Satay is our own version of a Western kebab

This famous Malay food, meat-on-a-stick appears on menus from New York to Amsterdam. The secret of tender, succulent satay is, of course, in the rich, spicy-sweet marinade. The marinated meat; chicken or beef, are skewered onto bamboo sticks and grilled over hot charcoals. A fresh salad of cucumbers & onions are served together with a spicy-sweet peanut sauce for dipping.


Ketupat, a Malay rice cake similar to Lontong (compressed rice roll), is also an accompaniment to satay, great for dipping in satay sauce.


Satay is our own version of a Western kebab, only sweeter and somewhat smaller. Pieces of softened, marinated meat are skewered on a thin stick made of coconut frond (‘lidi’ in Malay). It is then barbecued over a tray of hot steaming charcoals until brown and tenderly moist.


A wide range of meat can be used from rabbit to venison but beef and chicken is the most common. Accompanying it is thick peanut gravy and ‘ketupat’, rice cooked in coconut milk, cut into cubes and wrapped into an attractive weave of coconut leaves.

Posted by KopiO on 11:30 AM. Filed under foods, gallery . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0