One of my favorite things to get when we go our for Thai food is satay. I don’t know if its the spices the chicken or beef are marinated in or the peanut dipping sauce which just tickle my taste buds. Typically I’m not a big fan of chicken but it is something I have to work into my weekly menus. In the summer one of the best ways to avoid heating the house up is to grill. So I thought that perhaps chicken satay would be a good recipe to try to add to my weekly chicken rotation.
An internet search turned up a recipe that wzs Malaysian rather than Thai. Since I’ve had satay at a local Malaysian place and liked it better than our Thai place’s satay, I thought I’d give the version at Rasa Malaysia Easy Recipes a whirl. I’ve made it twice and changed the recipe a little. I use lemon grass paste because its easier to find than lemon grass and I don’t always cut the meat up and put it on skewers. Sometimes I just marinate and cook whole pieces on the grill. Ideally this would be served with a thai peanut sauce and a little sweet thai cucumber salad but I haven’t found a recipe I like for either or those yet. My only caution is to be careful with your turmeric because it you spill it it can stain stuff, such as your nice white corian kitchen counters.
Ingredients:
4 chicken legs and thighs (preferred) or 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts pounded
Bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for 2 hours
Oil, for basting
Marinade:
3 tablespoons oil
2 tbs lemongrass paste
2 cloves garlic, peeled
6 shallots, peeled
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons sugar
Method:
Blend the Marinade ingredients in a food processor. Add in a little water if needed. Marinate the chicken pieces for 6 hours or best overnight. If desired, cut the chicken meat into small cubes and thread a few pieces of the chicken meat onto the bamboo skewers. Grill for 3-4 minutes on each side until nicely charred. Baste and brush with some oil while grilling.
This particular recipe has become a big winner for me as it really makes chicken MUCH more palatable. I’m still figuring out exactly what to serve it with but I’ll discuss those experiments at a later date.