Over Labor Day weekend I invited few friends over for Singapore Slings and chicken satay. You know how it goes. I visit a foreign country, buy and lug home 20 pounds of cookbooks and then have to justify my aching back and sagging bookshelves with exotic drinks and noshings.

Depending on where you’re from, you may refer to what I grilled as a kebab, souvlaki, yakatori, espetada, shashlik or brochette. Then again, you might skip the fancy name and just say, “meat-on-a-stick.” However, if you’re eating Southeast Asian cuisine, you can only be talking about one thing — satay.

Some historians attribute satay to the Indonesian island of Java. There Muslim traders from India reputedly introduced the islanders to kebabs. Indonesian cooks transformed these grilled hunks of skewered meat into the marinated and grilled strips of chicken, fish or meat known as satay.

While Indonesia may lay claim to its creation, many Southeast Asian countries feature satay in their cuisines. It’s especially popular in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Served with a dipping sauce made from boiled ground peanuts, satay makes a lovely appetizer, main dish and accompaniment to a chilled Singapore Sling. More on that beverage later. For now . . .

SINGAPOREAN CHICKEN SATAY
Adapted from Sharon Wee’s Growing up in a Nonya Kitchen (Marshall Cavendish, 2012)
Serves 4 to 6

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon minced galangal
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 stalk lemongrass, roughly chopped
1 large shallot, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
olive oil, for greasing
bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes before using
peanut sauce, optional, for serving

In the bowl of a food processor or blender pulse together the sugar, coriander, galangal, cumin, turmeric, salt, fennel, lemongrass, shallot, garlic and coconut milk until a thick, fairly smooth marinade forms.

In a large bowl or dish toss the marinade and chicken cubes together until all the cubes are coated. Cover the container with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or maximum of 24 hours.

Preheat a grill on high. Evenly spread a layer of olive oil over a sheet of aluminum foil; the foil should be large enough to cover your grill grate.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and thread the cubes onto the presoaked skewers, leaving about an inch between each piece. Depending on the length of the bamboo, you should fit either 3 or 4 cubes onto a skewer.

Lay the greased aluminum foil, oil-side up, on the preheated grill and place the skewers on it. Cover and cook, turning periodically, until the chicken is firm, golden and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Depending on the size of your grill, you made need to do this in batches.

Serve the chicken satay on the skewers and optionally alongside store-bought peanut sauce. Note that homemade peanut sauce will be covered in a future Kitchen Kat entry.