Chicken Satay with Peanut Butter

I am not much of a carnivore. Being brought up in a vegetarian home, it took me some time and a few very persistent friends to expose me to the world of non-vegetarian cuisine. Even now, I continue to be very picky about what I can and cannot eat.

Chicken satay has been one of my favourite. For those of you who have tasted them before it will be obvious why they figure in my list of top picks in any restaurant. Those of you who have not tried them before - you need to do two things as below:

1. Absolutely try out the recipe 

2. There is nothing else ... just try out the recipe will you !!! :P 

Satays are very popular in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia and are essentially grilled skewered meat served with a dipping sauce. From what I hear they are a very popular street food in Indonesia - I have not travelled there yet :( Its on THE list though - and THE list is quite long, believe me !

I made them with chicken as I have received some requests to post a few recipes for the meat lovers. Vegetarians can try substituting the chicken with tofu (to remain true to the Asian style) or with paneer (for the more desi version)

The secret here is to get a good sauce which is used both to marinate the chicken as well as to serve along side.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts cut into 3" pieces

3 tbs peanut butter ( I used the crunchy variety although the recipes called for the smooth version - that's just the culinary rebel frugal in me. I basically used what I already had in my kitchen)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 red chilli de-seeded and finely chopped ( I used green chilli for precisely the same reasons as above. Besides buying a single red chilli seemed foolish :P )

3 cloves of garlic crushed finely 

Soy sauce

2"-3" piece of ginger finely grated 

2 tbs honey

4 tbs water

Ground black pepper

Vegetable oil

Bamboo skewers 

How to

First, soak the bamboo skewers in cold water and keep aside. 

In a bowl mix together the peanut butter, lemon juice, red chilli, garlic and ginger. Dilute with water to get a smooth consistency. I used the chunky peanut butter. Smoother variety might need a table spoon of water lesser.

Adjust the seasoning using the soy sauce and black pepper powder to taste.

Keep half the sauce aside for dipping.

Marinate the sliced chicken in the sauce for a couple of hours or over night. The longer the better.

Once marinated, skewer the chicken into the bamboo skewers and adjust on a oiled baking tray. Remember to keep the chicken flat in a single layer.

Drizzle with half the honey and half the remaining marinade.

Grill in a pre-heated grill at the maximum temperature setting for 6-7 minutes.

Turn over the skewers and drizzle with the remaining honey and marinade and grill again for 6 minutes.

Serve hot with the dipping peanut butter sauce.( Remember we had saved half of the sauce earlier - yeah that's the one I am talking about )

I paired the satay with a stir fried noodle preparation. They make a great snack just as they are as well.