Malaysian Chicken Satay With Peanut Sauce

Satay or "Sate" was originated from Java, Indonesia. It is also popular in other Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. It is an authentic and a popular dish consisting of richly spiced meat (chicken, pork, beef) on bamboo skewers. It is grilled over a wood or charcoal fire and served with a spicy peanut sauce, onions, cucumbers and ketupat (pressed rice cubes.) When I was a kid growing up in Malaysia, my friends and I would wait anxiously for our regular satay vendor. On his shoulder he had a long stick to carry two hugh baskets--a hot charcoal stove on one, and the other basket his famous satay. We would squat near his hot stove and watched hungrily while he cooked our satay. Hmmm..it was the best Satay I've tasted! Ingredients: 2-3 lbs chicken thigh meat 2 tsp. cumin powder 1 tsp. cinnamon powder 5 shallots, diced finely 2 tsp. coriander powder 2 tsp. tumeric powder 2 Tbsp. curry powder 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar 1 Tbsp. oil 1 tsp. salt 2 stalks lemon grass, crushed oil for basting bamboo skewers, soak overnight with a drop of oil Peanut sauce ingredients: 300 gms raw skinless peanuts, roasted 2 tsp. ginger powder 2 tsp. galangal powder 1 onion, cut in chunks 2 stalks lemon grass, grind finely 4 Tbsp. chilli paste 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 Tbsp. tamarind paste, mix with water to get 1/2 cup 2 Tbsp. oil Method: 1. Cut meat into 1-inch strips, drain and set aside. In a bowl mix cumin, cinnamon, shallots, coriander, tumeric, oil, curry powder, sugar and salt together to form a smooth paste. Marinate the meat well with this mixture. Pierce meat on bamboo skewers. Set aside in refrigerator. Peanut Sauce: 1. In a pan on medium heat, pan roast raw peanuts till golden brown. Cool, and grind peanuts to resembles like breadcrumbs. Set aside. 2. Mix the ginger, galangal, onion, lemon grass, brown sugar and chilli paste to a paste. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil and fry mixture till fragrant until a thin layer of oil forms on top of mixture. Lower heat and add tamarind juice and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Add sugar and 3/4 of the peanuts. If mixture is too thick, add a little more tamarind juce and a little more sugar if you like it sweeter. The taste should be spicy hot with a balance of sweet and sour taste. 3. Prepare charcoals for grilling. Grill meat over burning coal, constantly basting with cooking oil over the meat using the crushed lemon grass as a brush. Turn chicken over and baste with oil. Grilled till cooked on both sides. 4. To serve, arrange a few sticks of satay on a plate, accompanied with peanut sauce, cucumber, onions, and compressed rice (ketupat)