Chicken Satay

Satay, considered to be a national dish of Indonesia, is a popular Southeast Asian street food that usually involves a marinated meat being skewered and grilled, then served with a simple saucy dip. Depending on the region, there are countless variations of satay, with different kinds of meats, marinades, spices, and even skewer material. 

We're using flavorful chicken thigh meat here, but you can substitute anything from breast meat, to pork or beef, or even tofu and vegetables, though cooking times will vary. And that peanut sauce? Absolutely essential to the eating experience. It's the ultimate wingman to satay, containing all the fragrant notes of lemongrass, coconut, fish sauce, and fresh lime zest.

Lemongrass is an amazing aromatic that provides a citrusy, herbaceous and almost anise-y taste to a dish and we think it is integral to this recipe. You can find it in most supermarkets and if not you can find it in almost any Asian supermarket. The base of the marinade is essentially a lemongrass, coconut milk tea. The chopped lemongrass doesn't not get added to the peanut sauce because lemongrass can be pretty woody and is not great for dipping.

Just a word of advice: use tongs to toss together the chicken and turmeric, unless having yellow-stained hands has always been a secret dream of yours.

If you've made this recipe, drop us a line down below in the comments and let us know how it went! Now that you've got that grill fired up, check out our other grilling ideas.

Editor's note: This recipe was update to add a video and more information about the dish in the introduction on August 8th, 2022.