Chicken Satay (Sate Ayam) — Indonesian Skewers with Peanut Sauce

• 800 gboneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into 2.5 cm cubes)
• 16bamboo skewers (soaked in water for 30 minutes)
• 3 clovegarlic
• 4Asian shallots (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 inchfresh turmeric (peeled)
• 2 tspground coriander
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt
• 3 tbspkecap manis
• 1 tbspneutral oil
• 1 tbspfresh lime juice
• 180 groasted unsalted peanuts
• 2bird's eye chiles (stemmed)
• 120 mlcoconut milk
• 160 mlwater
• 2 tsptamarind paste
• 12 gpalm sugar (finely shaved)
• 300 glontong rice cake (cut into bite-size pieces)
• 1cucumber (cut into small wedges)
• 1lime (cut into wedges)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the marinade by pounding or blending the garlic, shallots, fresh turmeric, ground coriander, salt, kecap manis, oil, and lime juice into a smooth paste. Coat the chicken cubes thoroughly with the paste, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the seasoning penetrates the meat.

2. 2

   While the chicken marinates, prepare the peanut sauce by pulsing the roasted peanuts until they are coarse and sandy, not completely smooth. Pound or blend the garlic, shallots, and chiles separately so they form a fragrant spice paste that will fry evenly.

3. 3

   Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and fry the garlic-shallot-chile paste for 3 minutes, stirring constantly until it smells sweet and loses its raw edge. Add the ground peanuts, coconut milk, water, kecap manis, tamarind paste, palm sugar, and salt, then simmer for 6 to 8 minutes until glossy and spoonable.

4. 4

   Thread 4 to 5 pieces of marinated chicken onto each soaked bamboo skewer, keeping the pieces close together but not compressed. This arrangement protects the chicken from drying out while still allowing the edges to char properly.

5. 5

   Prepare a charcoal grill for medium-high direct heat, or heat a grill pan until very hot if cooking indoors. Grill the skewers for 8 to 10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes and brushing lightly with a spoonful of peanut sauce or kecap manis during the final turns.

6. 6

   Check that the thickest chicken pieces reach 74°C before removing the skewers from the grill. Rest them for 3 minutes so the juices settle and the glaze becomes tacky rather than wet.

7. 7

   Spoon warm peanut sauce onto a serving plate and lay the grilled satay skewers over it. Serve with lontong, cucumber wedges, sliced shallots, lime wedges, and extra sauce on the side for dipping.