Satiate your taste buds with satay!
Every cuisine has its way to savour the grilled meats. Japanese call theirs yakitori, Arabs call it shish tawook, Indians call theirs kebabs and Southeast Asians call theirs satay. Satay is a dish of marinated skewered and grilled meat served with sauce.
Satay primarily consists of chicken, lamb, beef, fish, tofu and vegetables skewered on bamboo sticks. Then are grilled or barbecued over wood or charcoal fire and served with sauce.
Satay is undoubtedly the national dish of Indonesia where it is available in almost all the restaurants. It is also popular in the neighbouring countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand and Philippines.
The word satay has made a place in the culinary world in that this has become a flavour in itself and many ready-to-eat foods come in satay flavour like instant noodles, potato chips, burger patties, chicken lollipops to name a few.
Southeast Asia is a food lover’s paradise. Even the street shops or hawkers are controlled by the local municipalities and follow strict guidelines over hygiene. These joints become a hub during festivals and celebrations, and people flock to them to enjoy their choice of satay. This was seen and observed by my last visit to these countries to study their cuisine.
Satay as you like
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
Chicken breast 600g
Ginger, minced 1tsp
Garlic, minced 3-4 cloves
Galangal, minced 1tsp
Yoghurt 1 cup
Curry powder 1 tbsp
Vegetable oil for grilling
Lettuce leaf 3-4 no
Cilantro few sprigs
Salt to taste
Wooden skewers 20- 25 no
Method
Combine yoghurt, ginger, garlic, galangal and curry powder in a shallow mixing bowl.
Cut the chicken breast into finger size strips and marinate in the prepared marinade.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes, soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.
Thread the chicken strips onto the soaked skewers, working the skewer in and out of the meat.
Heat a grilling pan or a charcoal grill over medium heat and brush with oil to prevent sticking.
Grill the chicken satay for 3 to 5 minutes on each sides until nicely seared and cooked.
Serve hot along with shredded lettuce leaf, cilantro leaf and peanut sauce on the side.
Peanut sauce
(yield 2 cups)
Ingredients
Peanut butter 1/2 cup
Soy sauce 1 tbsp
Red chili paste 2 tbsp
Brown sugar 2 tbsp
Lime juice 2 no
Hot water ¼ cup
Peanuts ¼ cup
Method
Combine peanut butter, soy sauce, red chilli paste, brown sugar and lime juice in a blender or food processor.
Puree till the all the ingredients are mashed and blended together.
Pour some hot water in the blender while the motor is running to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
Once the sauce is of desired thickness remove from blender and garnish with chopped peanuts.
Serve with chicken satay.
Steamed vegetables
We all have meals we love, the ones we look forward to, crave even — comfort meals. But so often these favourite dinners are neither healthy nor easy to prepare. They might be packed full of cream, fat, cheese, or they take ages to cook and involve multiple processes. One of the major problems is that they usually don’t contain enough vegetables.
Although I like to grill vegetables, steaming them is one of my preferred methods. By steaming a vegetable, its colour, texture, and flavour is better retained, as also the vegetable’s nutritional content. Steaming is also one of the easiest ways to prepare vegetables, and can be done in minutes.
There are ways by which you can add charm to the usual steamed vegetables. There’s no need to go out and spend a lot of money on a steamer. Bamboo steamers work really well and are available from most Asian grocers.
Alternatively, if you have a colander or sieve, you can use that. Simply fill a pan with enough water so that the level sits beneath your steaming device and balance the colander or sieve on top. Bring the water to the boil. Add your vegetables to the colander reduce the heat under the pan so the water is at a lively simmer and cover with a saucepan lid or plate. This will keep enough of the steam inside to cook your veggies.
Some tips
A squeeze of lime or lemon juice with some seasoning can do wonders to your steamed vegetables.
Add some teaspoons of pesto to the steamed vegetables.
Salad dressings work really well for steamed vegetables.
Add some chopped sundried tomato, lemon zest and olive oil to drizzle. A dollop of hummus on steamed vegetables with lemon juice is a good combination.
Tahini and chopped garlic is wonderful to try on steamed vegetables.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
[email protected]
