Sate with Peanut Sauce

About This Recipe

Sate is Indonesia's most famous grilled food — small pieces of marinated meat threaded onto bamboo skewers and cooked fast over glowing charcoal until the edges char and the sweet soy marinade caramelizes. Java is its heartland, where sate ayam Madura sets the template most foreigners know: chicken skewers lacquered with kecap manis and draped in a rich peanut sauce of ground peanuts, garlic, chili, palm sugar, and coconut milk. Vendors fan the coals with woven bamboo fans, and the smoke itself is part of the seasoning. Whether eaten off a street cart at midnight or piled high at a wedding, sate works as snack, starter, or a full meal over rice cakes (lontong).

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 800 gchicken breast or beef, thinly sliced
• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tbspbrown sugar
• 2 clovesgarlic, minced
• 1 tbspfresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsplime juice
• 1 cupunsalted peanuts, ground
• 1/2 cancoconut milk (200ml)
• 2 tbspchili paste or sambal oelek
• 2 clovesgarlic
• 1 tbsplime juice (for sauce)
• 2 tspbrown sugar (for sauce)
• 1 tspsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate

   Whisk the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and lime juice into a glossy marinade and massage it into the sliced meat. Thread the pieces snugly onto bamboo skewers that have soaked in water for 30 minutes, then marinate at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 4 hours chilled.

   Soaking the skewers prevents them burning through before the meat chars.

2. 2

   Make sauce

   Grind the peanuts with garlic and chili paste to a coarse, slightly textured purée, then warm it gently in a saucepan with coconut milk, lime juice, brown sugar, and salt. Simmer 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and the oil just begins to separate at the edges.

3. 3

   Grill

   Grill the skewers over hot charcoal or in a ripping-hot cast-iron pan, 3–5 minutes per side, turning once the sugars char. Baste with leftover marinade in the first half of cooking only, and pull the meat the moment it's cooked through so it stays juicy.

   Crowd the skewers close together over the heat so the exposed bamboo is shielded and the meat steams less and chars more.

4. 4

   Serve

   Pile the skewers onto a platter, spoon the warm peanut sauce generously over the top or serve it alongside for dipping, and finish with lime wedges, sliced shallot, and a drizzle of kecap manis if you have it.

Variations

• •

  Sate kambing: use lamb or goat, marinated simply in sweet soy and grilled.

• •

  Sate lilit (Bali): wrap spiced minced fish or chicken around lemongrass stalks instead of skewers.

• •

  Use shrimp or firm fish like swordfish — cut grilling time to 2 minutes per side.

• •

  Sate Padang-style: skip the peanut sauce and serve with a thick, turmeric-spiced rice-flour gravy.

Storage

The peanut sauce keeps refrigerated for up to 5 days and the meat can marinate overnight, but grill skewers fresh to order. Reheat sauce gently with a splash of water to restore its consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions