Malay Satay

Preamble

"To most people, Satay is Malay food. Tourists rarely pass through Malaya, or even Singapore, without making what amounts to a ritual visit to the street stalls that serve this delicacy.

In fact, Satay is only one of the many types of cooking embraced by the complex modern culture of the Malays and Indonesians. It is certainly one whose culinary reputation is very well deserved. But it could also be held up as the symbol of all the historical, cultural and geographical influences that came together in this area in pre-colonial times: the kebab, reminiscent of the Arab Moslem world. the sauce a reminder of the Indianization which characterized the ancient period."

Ingredients
1 lb Fillet Steak or Round Steak or Chicken Breast
Sauce
2 teaspoons Coriander Seeds
1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
1/2-1 teaspoon Ground Chilli
1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
4 tablespoons Tamarind Water made from a piece of tamarind the size a hazelnut
1/2 inch cube Blachan
2 Brown Onions
1 clove Garlic
3/4 cup freshly roasted Peanuts roughly ground
6 fl oz thick Coconut Milk
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
2 tablespoons Peanut Oil
Salt to taste

Method

Cut steak into 1/2 inch cubes. Thread these on to a skewer about 6 inches long, leaving 3 inches at the holding end, and grill over a charcoal fire or under the grill, basting occasionally with the melted copha or peanut oil.

Sauce:

Grind all the dry spices in a blender. Mince the onions and garlic finely and chop the blachan. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onions and garlic, blachan and spices until they are well cooked and aromatic. Add the ground peanuts and coconut milk, tamarind water and sugar and stir well. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes and stir in the lemon juice just before serving.

Arrange the skewers of meat on a plate, pour over them the sauce and serve with cubes of fresh, unpeeled cucumber. The Malays eat Satay with pieces of rice cake made from glutinous rice boiled and cooled under a press, which they dip in the sauce, but plain rice is just as acceptable.

Remarks
A hand written note on this recipe says "x 20" Appeared on menu: Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce $3.50 (Beef fillet marinated with ginger, brandy, oil and garlic then grilled and served with spiced peanut sauce) For the mariande for this dish, see Satay Marinade