Grilled Chicken Satay Skewers

No matter which food festival you find yourselves at, it’s almost certain that you’ll catch a whiff of those beautiful enticing aromas that suddenly remind you of delicious juicy slices of marinated chicken, delicately placed on bamboo skewers, and perfectly grilled on a charcoal open fire. Yes, my tummy is rumbling too, and so is Barack Obama’s – apparently this is a childhood favourite of his!  

While our recipe is a Singaporean take on the dish, chicken satay skewers actually originate from Indonesia and have always been a very popular dish in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei.  It has also been widely agreed that the satay cooking method traces back to the island of Java, where it is believed to have been inspired by the Indian kebab which was imported by Muslim traders. As time has passed, the dish has been acquired by many different cultures, establishing many new varieties of the original recipe. Start to explore these differences with our very own recipe, and discover many eastern flavours that have evolved throughout history. 

Recipe: 

Serves: 4 

Ingredients: 

For chicken skewers

1kg Chicken thighs 

½ tsp Garlic powder

1 tbsp Gochujang paste

2 tbsp Oyster sauce

½ tsp White pepper powder

1 tsp Lemongrass

1 tbsp Turmeric powder

Pinch Salt

Pinch Pepper

1 tbsp Sugar

½ tsp Coriander powder 

1 tbsp Sweet paprika powder

1tbsp Canola oil 

Peanut sauce:

2 cups crushed roasted peanuts 

½ cup palm sugar

2 tbsp salt

4 tbsp red curry paste

5 lime leaves 

1 cup water 

Method:

Cut the chicken thighs into 1.5cm diced pieces and set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine the garlic powder, gochujang paste, oyster sauce, white pepper powder, lemongrass, turmeric powder, salt, pepper, sugar, coriander, sweet paprika powder and canola oil. Add the chicken to the bowl and marinate ensuring all pieces are covered. Set aside in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Carefully thread 3-4 chicken pieces onto each skewer. 

Chicken skewers can be grilled in a hot pan, on a BBQ or in the oven.  If you are using a hot pan or a BBQ, grill the chicken until they are completely cooked through and have a chargrilled outer layer (around 3-5 minutes). To cook the chicken in the oven, set the oven to 210 degrees and cook until the chicken is chargrilled. 

To make the peanut sauce, add the crushed roasted peanuts, palm sugar, salt, red curry paste, lime leaves and water to a pot and cook on high heat. Bring the sauce to boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for a t least 1 hour. 

Serve the chicken skewers with the peanut sauce.