Balinese chicken satay with peanut sauce recipe

You might have had chicken satay before, but trust us, it won't have tasted as good as this! This Balinese chicken satay with peanut sauce infuses the meat with lots of traditional Indonesian flavours including garlic, kaffir lime and kecap manis, a type of soy sauce. Served with a creamy peanut dip, this is a great addition to any BBQ or family dinner spread.

Ingredients

For the marinade:

• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1tsp soy sauce
• 1tbsp kecap manis (Indonesian soy sauce)
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, fresh or dried, finely shredded
• 6 skinned, boned chicken thighs, cut into 2cm (3⁄4in) squares

For the peanut sauce:

• 2tbsp veg oil
• 3 shallots or 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 red bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced or 1⁄2-1tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1tbsp tomato purée
• 1⁄2tsp shrimp paste
• 1tbsp palm sugar or muscovado sugar
• 165ml can coconut cream
• 100g roasted peanuts, finely chopped
• 2tsp kecap manis
• Juice of 1 lime

You will need:

• 12 bamboo skewers soaked in cold water for at least 30 mins

Method

1. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small pan over a low heat. Add shallots, or onion, and fry gently until soft and lightly browned. Take out half the mixture and set aside for the marinade. Add the chilli, tomato purée and shrimp paste to the pan and cook for 2 mins. Stir in the sugar and coconut cream, and simmer for 2 mins to reduce and thicken it. Add the nuts with the kecap manis and lime juice. Season with a little salt. It should be sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Cool.
2. To make the marinade, stir the garlic, soy sauces, 2tsp coarsely ground black pepper and lime leaves into the cooked shallot with 1tbsp oil. Add the chicken and mix well. Leave to marinate for 10 mins or longer.
3. Thread 5-6 pieces of meat on to each skewer. Brush the sticks lightly with more oil. Cook on a griddle, BBQ or under a hot grill for 5-7 mins, turning once until cooked through. Serve hot with the peanut sauce.