Sate ayam

Ingredients

• Boneless chicken thigh900 g
• Kecap manis100 ml
• Roasted peanuts250 g
• Shallots5
• Garlic6 clove
• Chillies3
• Ground coriander2 tsp
• Turmeric1 tsp
• Tamarind paste2 tbsp
• Palm sugar2 tbsp
• Limes2
• Vegetable oil60 ml
• Rice — to serve400 g
• Saltto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Cut the chicken into two-centimetre cubes and coat them in a mix of kecap manis, garlic, coriander and turmeric.

   20 min

2. 2

   Marinate for at least two hours, ideally overnight in the fridge.

   12 min

3. 3

   Grind the peanuts to a coarse crumb, keeping a few whole for serving.

   8 min

4. 4

   Fry the shallot, garlic and chilli in oil until soft, add the ground peanuts and cook three minutes.

   10 min

5. 5

   Add a cup of water, the tamarind, palm sugar and kecap manis and cook the sauce ten minutes to thicken.

   12 min

6. 6

   Thread the pieces tight onto soaked skewers, five or six to each.

   12 min

7. 7

   Grill over hot coals two minutes a side, basting with kecap manis. Serve with the sauce and rice.

   10 min

About the dish

Kecap manis — thick sweet soy sauce made with palm sugar — goes into the marinade, the sauce and the serving. Ordinary soy does not replace it: it is salty rather than sweet and gives a different colour.

The pieces are cut small, about two centimetres, and threaded tight. Over hot coals they cook in four minutes, and larger ones simply will not cook through.

The peanut sauce should be as thick as soured cream. In Indonesia it is served alongside rather than poured over: the skewer is dipped, not drowned.

Worth knowing

• — Kecap manis burns fast because of its sugar. Start basting only in the last minute on each side.
• — The sauce sets almost to a paste as it cools. Let it down with hot water rather than coconut milk, which flattens the flavour.
• — Soak the skewers half an hour. Dry ones burn through before the meat is done and break as you turn them.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

780 kcal

Protein

52 g

Fat

40 g

Carbs

50 g

More from Indonesia

• Nasi goreng — Fried rice with a chilli and shrimp-paste base, sweet soy sauce and an egg on top.
• Rendang — Beef simmered in coconut milk for four hours, until the milk turns to oil and starts frying the meat.
• Soto ayam — A yellow chicken broth on turmeric and lemongrass, with noodles, egg and fried shallot.