Chicken Satay

"Satay Ayam" as they would call it in Malaysia....*sigh* the land of culinary delights! Being brought up in Malaysia is amazing. I was fed and acquainted to a vast variety of cultures and flavours even before I could cook! I'm lucky to have parents who have been "Western-ized"; in more ways than just food. They brought all sorts of different dishes into the household; e.g British, Italian, French, German, American, Mexican, Japanese....I'll stop there before your attention begins to stray :P hehe. I would probably end up with almost 1/2 of the countries in the world!

Quite a number of my Australian classmates have this mindset that all Malaysian-type-food is greasy and spicy....that is very untrue! I often try to convince them otherwise but its difficult because almost every Malaysian restaurant in Sydney serves up greasy, spicy food! *shudder*
Another funny misconception a couple friends of mine once had was that all Malaysian's are Malay! *jaw drops* haha I still remember how they exclaimed with curiosity; "You're Malaysian? but you look so Chinese!" LOL I couldn't help giggling as I explained to them how I came about being Malaysian and Chinese at the same time! I would probably be asking similar ridiculous questions if I was thrown half way round the world somewhere in..Croatia?! It's great to share stories about our native countries and cultures; it's probably my favourite thing about meeting different students at Uni.
Back to the topic of food, here's my own version of our Malaysian Satay. It didn't taste exactly like the amazing ones from the hawkers back home; but for my first go at grilling satay; I'd say its pretty darn good!

2 inch cube ginger
3 cloves garlic
3 stalks enshallots
1 tbsp sambal paste
1 red chilli
2 tsp tumeric
1 stalk lemon grass (diced)
Salt and Sugar to taste

Blend these ingredients in a grinder till it resembles a thick dark paste. Add in 1 tbsp kecap manis and stir to combine. Dice (approximately 4 chunks of chicken thighs) into 2-3 cm strips and coat in marinade. Leave aside for a couple of hours or more for the flavours to absorb. Meanwhile; soak about 20 skewers in water and leave for a couple of hours. I trimmed the ends off of my skewers to make them easier to handle.
To grill, preheat the grill to 200-210 degrees and thread meat carefully into the skewers. Lay flat onto foil and smear with a little vegetable oil and pop under the grill. I guess the barbecue or a hot plate would work great as well. I cooked the meat on both sides for 10-15 minutes each side till brown and fragrant.

We had our Satay's with basmati rice cooked in Indian spices and a drizzle of Satay sauce.My recipe for the satay sauce is pretty far from authentic; but yummy nonetheless!... if you wish you could make some for yourself. Opening a jar of Satay Sauce from a good brand to save some time would be a great idea as well :).

2 heap tbsp's of crunchy peanut butter
scoop out the leftover marinade from the chicken
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp spicy chilli sauce
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dried chilli flakes

Stir all the sauce ingredients over the stove in a saucepan till thick and smooth. Freshly ground peanuts are just too much of a hassle. Peanut butter makes life a lot simpler *wink*