Sate Ayam

About This Recipe

Sate Ayam is Indonesia's most famous street food — small pieces of turmeric-marinated chicken threaded onto bamboo skewers and grilled over charcoal until charred at the edges. The smoky skewers are served with a glossy, sweet peanut sauce and a side of compressed rice (lontong) or warm rice.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 600 gboneless chicken thighs, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 1 tspground turmeric
• 1 tspground coriander
• 2 clovesgarlic, grated
• 1 tbspkecap manis
• 1 tbspvegetable oil
• 0.5 tspsalt
• 16 pcsbamboo skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes
• 180 gsmooth peanut butter
• 3 tbspkecap manis (for sauce)
• 2 tbsplime juice
• 1 tbspsoy sauce
• 2 pcsred chillies, blended
• 150 mlwater
• 1 clovegarlic (for sauce)

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate chicken

   Mix chicken cubes with turmeric, ground coriander, grated garlic, kecap manis, oil, and salt. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.

2. 2

   Thread skewers

   Thread 4–5 pieces of chicken onto each soaked bamboo skewer.

3. 3

   Make peanut sauce

   In a small saucepan combine peanut butter, blended chillies, garlic, kecap manis, soy sauce, lime juice, and water. Simmer over low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes until smooth. Adjust consistency with water.

4. 4

   Grill skewers

   Grill chicken skewers over high heat (charcoal, gas grill, or griddle pan) for 4–5 minutes per side, basting with a little kecap manis, until cooked through with charred edges.

5. 5

   Serve

   Serve skewers with warm peanut sauce, sliced cucumber, raw shallots, and steamed rice or compressed rice cakes.

Variations

• •

  Use pork or lamb for different regional versions.

• •

  Add sambal kecap (sliced shallots in chilli and soy) as an extra condiment.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Store cooked satay in fridge up to 3 days. Reheat on a grill or under the broiler.

Frequently Asked Questions