Malay Satay — those little skewers of meat with peanut sauce and ketupat (Malay rice cake) is a very popular dish in Malaysia. Walk down any street in the country and the mouthwatering aroma of Satay exudes from practically every corner you pass: road side Malay stalls, hawker centers, pasar malam (night markets), kopi tiam (Chinese coffee shops), and even high-end restaurants.
Of course Satay is universally loved across Southeast Asia. (It’s commonly believed that Satay is the region’s distant cousin to Middle-Eastern Kebabs, thanks to the spice route and the culinary influence of early Arab traders.) However each country has their own interpretation for Satay, influenced by their own unique food culture and distinct palate. For instance, Indonesian Satays tend to be sweeter because of the heavy consumption of Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce) while the Thai Satay is slightly less sweet since coconut milk is used instead…
No surprise then that Malaysian Satay is made with ingredients and spices commonly found in Malay cooking; shallots, lemon grass, turmeric powder (kunyit), and coriander seeds. The basic recipe calls for the cook’s meat of choice — be it chicken, beef, lamb — to marinate for many hours or even overnight so as to lock in the flavor. In addition to the peanut dipping sauce, Malay Satay is served with ketupat, onions, and cucumber. Trust me, the taste of these side dishes complement each other exquisitely.
When I make Satays at home I often save time by using off-the-shelf satay marinate powder such as Ayam Brand Satay Seasoning (aka “cheated“), but the existence of Rasa Malaysia has motivated me to cook everything from scratch nowadays. So I will admit to modifying the traditional Malay recipe with a tint of Kecap Manis and Oyster Sauce substituting for salt and sugar. But as you can infer from these pictures, the end results were delicious. You can almost smell the enticing aroma of Satay from your computer, can’t you?
Ingredients:
4 chicken legs and thighs or 4 chicken breasts (deboned)
Spice Paste:
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
2 stalks lemon grass
6 shallots (peeled)
2 cloves garlic (peeled)
4 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 teaspoon of chili powder
2 teaspoons of turmeric powder (kunyit)
4 teaspoons of Kecap Manis (ABC brand from Indonesia recommended)
1 spoon of Oyster Sauce (Lee Kam Kee brand recommended)
Bamboo skewers (soaked in water for 2 hours to avoid burning)
1 cucumber (skin peeled and cut into small pieces)
Method:
Cut the chicken meat into small cubes. Grind the Spice Paste in a food processor. Add in a little water if needed. Marinate the chicken pieces with the spice paste for 10-12 hours. Thread the meat on to bamboo skewers and grill for 2-3 minutes each side. Serve hot with fresh cucumber pieces.
Related Posts:
- Chicken Kebab (Chicken Kabab) Recipe
- Chicken Curry
- Chicken Curry Kapitan Recipe
- Beef Rendang Recipe (Rendang Daging)
- Chicken Karaage (Sesame Fried Chicken) Recipe
Get new recipes via RSS and reader or subscribe via email
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
wow! your food (and photo’s) look amazing… and enticing. you are definately a great new addition to the food blog world. we are definatelly adding you to the foodblogblog. thanks for letting us know about your site :-)
Reply
Bee Yinn,
The satay looks yummy.
Where’s the pics of the peanut sauce, ketupat, cucumber & onion? Heh, heh…too much huh. Post recipe and pics oridi. Still want some more : )
cheers,
KL Changs
Reply
The satays took super yummylicious, I am drooling now!
Reply
I love satay so much I almost want to taste the computer screen.
Reply
I love satay, so I’m trying not to taste my computer screen right now.
Reply
looks very yummy!
err…where are the ketupat, gravy, timun & onions??
cheers
Reply
kl changs,
Ketupat I don’t know how to make yet, also, I don’t even know where can I find the leaves. I am not a big fan of peanut sauce…it’s too sweet and gooey for my taste, I like my Satays plain. Yes, I did capture some pictures with Timun, but Onions are kelefe, not the centerpiece I reckon! ;)
Reply
woahhhhh…. i think even satay in Mal dont look that good
Reply
Hey Teckiee,
Thanks for your kind comment. Malaysian satays usually come with dark meat, and also a little bit of chicken fat / skin threaded in between the meat pieces…very juicy and “succelent.” Mine was a little dry because I used white meat (chicken breasts), but they turned out good.
:)
Reply
whoa your satay looks great. i doubt i would make them myself hahaha
Reply
babe_kl,
Thanks! Well, you don’t have to, I am sure Kajang satays or those found in KL are way more delicious than mine!!
Reply
arrgh, after reading this post i have an urge to look for satays now :(
Reply
I love satays specially for appetizers. I love your site, I could find a lot of useful and yummy recipes here.
Reply
I was just looking around for chicken satay recipe. Yours look so delicious…
Reply
Bee Yinn - absolutely loved this!! Feel like having some satay right now!!
Any side helpings like ais kacang?
Param
Reply
would you happen to have tried making healthier but tasty satay sauce?
i prefer eating satay without the fat i always spit it out when i eat it for some reason
Reply
Do you know how to prepare the meat for beef satay? I used beef strips but it was tough, unlike what I eat in Malay Satay stalls.
Reply
I am coming from Claude Olivier’s blog. Your satays look so yummy, thanks for the recipe. And Hello from Paris.
Reply
Wow, also coming from Claude-Olivier’s blog and I must admit I am trying very much to keep from licking my screen! Good thing I ate a lot tonight :-) I will most definitely try your recipe very soon. Do you think I can grind the spices by hand or must they be pulverized? Do you think replacing the kejap manis with sweet condensed milk would be tasty? I’ll keep you posted with the results…
Reply
Vkeong - go have your fix now. :)
Tiga - yes, they are delicious.
Param - no ice kacang yet, will have to try making them soon.
Lyn - I like my satay without the peanut sauce because it tends to cover the flavor. I do not really have a healthy and less fatty version of satay sauce, but I will try to make one with the satay sauce the next time. ;)
Simcooks - I don’t really eat beef so sorry. :(
Gracianne - welcome and thanks for your comment. Hello from USA. :)
Marie-Helene - Thanks and welcome.
You can pound the spice paste using a mortar and pestle but it’s very hard to grind by hand. Do not replace the kejap manis with sweet condensed milk because it taste totally different. If you do not have kejap manis, you can always use soy sauce, but add sugar to it. Do let me know the results. ;)
Reply
i cannot imagine oyster sauce with satay. how close to the original taste is your satay?
Reply
Simcooks:I Used to live in Indonesia where much of the meat was water buffalo and intrinsically tough. The locals recommended wrapping it overnight in papaya leaves (they have some enzyme in them)…although I don’t know how easy they are to get your hands on! Another tip is to give it a good bashing with a hammer.
Rasa: recipe looks great…will try it out tomorrow!
Reply
OMG! everyone has to try making this , i was able to make it at school and it turned out to be delicious, i strongly strongly recomend it !
s.k
Reply
There is no relation between Kebab and satay. The origin of Satay is from Indonesia, Java Island. I am a Malay and I know which food originated from Malay and which one is not.
Reply
Your pictures look gastronomically Yummy! Inspire me in some ways to cook again. Thank you.
However, my recipe for satay is slightly different from yours, which is the Singaporean version. It includes galangal (lengkuas), brown sugar (gula merah), fennel seeds, ginger & tamarind paste.
Reply
could you tell me what the satay man brushes on the satay when cookog the satay. Thank you
Reply
RasaMalaysia, I just want to let you know that I tried your satay recipe over the weekend and BOY IT WAS MO TAK TENG!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe. This recipe tastes so much better than those instant powder that you get from the Asian Grocery store. You made me a better Malaysian cook! ;)
Reply
I’d love to have the recipe of the satay sauce. The ones from the store does not taste good.
Pls. help!
Reply
I myself recommend Bango brand for kecap manis. Most Indonesias like Bango brand better than ABC, but since Bango is not as popular as ABC in abroad, sometimes we just pick whatever we have in the market :)
Reply
i am a chef for over 30 years i cook alot of food and created my own menu i born in malaysia i work in holland and germany now live in uk 18 year now the food change anot in cantonese food i cook as well and english i like malaysia food like nesi lemak malaysia is the best i try to build of of my new business on my own do do home delivery in uk i wil start up bussiness in jan 2008 all my menu is malaysia food only at the moment in uk cannot buy baba curry powder over here the curry powder there sell here is useless is not that kind of curry powder cann cook good curry everytime i go back to malaysia i always go to bangkok bank to eat nesi lemak and pudu is a malay people sell is the best nesi lemak i eat i like the samba and i will go to kejag is the best to eat satay in uk alot of people use malaysia name do run take aways food there are not that kind of food there cook like in malaysia in china town here have a shop call malaysia delight i try the food is not good enough is rubbis i try to show to the people my food i can cook better that the china town one you can go to my website to see my carving http://www.uniqueartzone.piczo.com or http://www.davecarving.piczo.com all my carving i lean by myself and some of the food menu is my own food
Reply
No joke, Satay is the signature dish of Malaysia Airlines’ Business Class (Golden Club Class) and has been awarded SkyTrax signature dish award before.
So get in on the act and do yourself a good satay.
If you want to go an extra step, grill the sticks over charcoal - try bringing back a satay brazier from Malaysia. The aluminium satay burner is a good souvenier - a bit bulky but light, you can pack things inside it so it doesn’t waste space in your suitcase.
Reply
my mother-in-law taught me to use honey to sweeten the satay…it’s aroma is fantastic…I will definitely try kecap manis sometime
Reply
Finally a chicken satay recipe without weird ingredients! your chicken satay looks exactly like those i got when i was holidaying in Malaysia.
Reply
I am so glad I found your recipes, I am always on the look out for authentic malaysian and indian foods so I will be looking at your recipes often.
Reply
hey, i love ur site so much! i just try the satay recipe and got to wait for 12 hours to grill it… i feel so warm when i see ur site full of malaysia food recipes for me who are staying alone at oversea.
Reply
Hey You!! Thanks for this site, M glad i found it, simple recipe for satay. Really wanna try it coz my daughter love it. Living abroad in the US, i crave Malaysian food more than ever. Thank you again. Keep coming with new recipe and simple to follow. Appreciate it highly.
Will post you a comments again. Keep up the good work. You ROCK!!
Reply
i did a search for recipes and thought this was awesome. I’m Malaysian and have lived abroad for the last 26 years. I still miss the satay man with the grill on the back of his modified vespa!! Growing up in the ‘burbs of KL, you watch TV with the grills locked and the doors and windows open and wait and wait for the satay man … Things were good back then, even if we had 3 English movies and TV3 recycled them over and over. I’m definitely going to make this satay this weekend as I often cook OUR food still despite the Mat Salleh husband..LOL. I especially love the fact you don’t have “weird” things in it and I can get all the stuff from the local grocery store. thanks for the lifeline…Missing M’sia.
Reply
I like “kecap bango” sweet soy sauce brand better than “kecap ABC” ;)
Reply
Had a satay party using your recipe and everybody loved it. Have to cook over coal though. Tried both coal and fry pan. I found that the flavour comes out from the smoke from the coal. it lost alot of its flavour when I tried frying it on the frypan.
Reply
I want to know how to make a tasty peanut sauce for teh satay as its key! I was sad to see it not posted with this reciepe.
Reply
Made this for ‘malay get together’ at my place… it was super tasty!! everyone loved it! will definitely made some more. i made them again the other day and freeze them. so i can have satay whenever i want ahahhaaa… what a dream!! thanks again!
Reply
Rasa Malaysia replied:
Missus - thanks for trying the satay recipe. I am quite sure it taste even better as it gets marinated in your freezer.
Reply
Came across your satay recipe while looking for something special to make for my daughter’s 1st birthday - needless to say, I kept my sanity, the guests were happy and I thank you so much for sharing this with everyone! The satay looked great, people were raving about it and best of all, the ingredients were readily available in California where we live. You are a lifesaver, terima kasih!
Reply
Rasa Malaysia replied:
Suriana - sama-sama. You are so kind. Thanks for trying!
Reply
I just made this today with your recipe for satay sauce. It was unbelievably easy to make and delicious to eat! Thanks. I want to post a picture of it too. http://www.flickr.com/photos/premilamathews/?saved=1
Reply
Rasa Malaysia replied:
Wow! Well done with the chicken satay. I am glad you find the recipe easy to follow and make. Nice pics :)
Reply
Hello, I am a fellow Malaysian living oversea and was asked to make the satay to entertain our friends. I followed main part of the recipes using what you have listed here plus a hint of cumin and curry powder. It was a big hit. Thanks. :)
Reply
Rasa Malaysia replied:
Thank you and I am glad you love the satay recipe!
Reply
Rasa Malaysia replied:
Awesome, I am glad the satay recipe was a hit.
Reply