SATAY - The Southeast Asian Delight

Satay is a Southeast Asian dish of marinated, bite-size pieces of meat, skewered, barbecued, and usually served with a peanut-flavored dipping sauce. Indonesia is believed to be the true birthplace of satay. The Asian dish is also very popular in its surrounding countries including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
The satay dish includes skewers of grilled meat, sliced cucumbers, sliced onions, pressed rice cakes, served with thick, sweet, and hot peanut sauce on the side. The most popular satay variations are the chicken and pork satay, with beef and tofu satay next in line.

To create a delicious dish of satay, you need to cut the meat up into thin strips or small bite-size pieces, and then marinate it in a flavorful mixture of herbs and spices. The meat is then skewered onto wooden sticks (known as satay sticks) and grilled over charcoal or at your own backyard BBQ.

Satay is traditionally served with satay sauce, which is a fresh peanut sauce.
Check out the following recipe:
Ingredients:
• 8-12 skinless chicken thighs, cut into thin strips
• 1 package wooden skewers

Marinate:
• 1/4 cup minced lemongrass , fresh or frozen
• 2 shallots OR 1 small onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-2 fresh red chilies, sliced
• 1 thumb-size piece ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon of minced fresh turmeric
• 2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce (available at Asian food stores)
• 4 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 5 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Listed at number 14 on the World’s 50 most delicious foods (complied by CNNGo in 2011), satay is one of the ‘must-try’ dishes in Singapore.

Below are 4 famous satay places you should patronize when you visit Singapore:

1. Lau Pa Sat Satay

The Lau Pa Sat Satay is a street of Singapore with more than 10 satay stalls. It is an outdoor dining area belonging to Lau Pa Sat Festival Market. The street is vibrant in the evening, providing diners with skewers of chicken, lamb, beef and pork (in varieties of Chinese and Muslim styles).

As the city lights up, bustling atmosphere is started with swift setups of folding tables, plastic chairs and the starting of charcoal fires. The barbecue smoke carrying the irresistible aroma of the satay reveals the readiness of Singapore style barbeque party. Enthusiastic crowds will quickly fill up the place to make this night spot one of the Singapore’s most exciting street dining places to savor the sizzling satay with ice-cold beer.

1. Chuan Kee Satay

If you are a satay lover, you must pay a visit to Chuan Kee Satay to try its pork satay. This is probably the best pork satay in Singapore. Chuan Kee Satay started as a family business in 1970s and this food stall has served yummy traditional Hainanese satay for almost 50 years. Its pork satay is a unique combination of succulent pork meat and fat, flavourful spices, tasty peanut and pineapple gravy. Chuan Kee Satay is located at the famous Old Airport Road food centre.

1. Haron Satay

Located at East Coast Lagoon Food Village, a relaxing spot at East Coast Park, Haron Satay is a favourite destination to enjoy Malaysian Muslim-style satay. Its satay is grilled to perfection making its meat very tender and juicy. Haron Satay is surrounded by a long sandy beach and greenery trees to provide diners pleasurable and enjoyable ambience

1. Shi Xiang Satay

Serving only chicken and pork options, they are slowly barbecued on charcoals that are constantly replenished to keep the low heat consistent. The meat is slightly charred for taste, juicy and tender from the inside out, and surprises with a crunchy lard in the middle of the pork satay. The peanut sauce comes with a dollop of grated pineapple, but the citrus taste was overpowered by the peanut. While it takes a bit of patience to meander through the maze of stalls in Chinatown Complex, Shi Xiang is a hidden gem you should visit.