chicken satay

My girlfriends and I went out for my birthday last night.  We were eating Indian food, and when the waiter forgot to bring us our Cucumber Raita, it reminded me of this recipe I made last summer.  I had taken photos but never posted it! It is fun to go back in time, this is a recipe we made late July, and it was A-MAZE-ING.  Seeing the photos makes me want to bust out the grill and make it again!!

Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce -Cathy Thomas

This recipe comes from Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce.  I found this cookbook at the library, and it is GREAT.  It is not often I find a cookbook that I like well enough to buy, because it takes up storage space. I would rather keep my recipes online, but this one is definitely on my “to buy” list!  I’ve checked it out from the library 3 times!  There are so many times that I buy produce from the farmers market because it looks so fresh and pretty, then I bring it home and don’t know how to use it.  This cookbook solves that problem!

Chicken Satay is an Indonesian dish, chunks or strips of chicken, threaded on skewers, then grilled.  It is served with a peanut butter- based sauce.  This sauce is so flavorful, it would be great to have on hand just to serve over plain brown rice!  A bit of cucumber raita on the side just gives your taste buds a cooling break–not that this sauce is that spicy, at least ours was not.  You can make it spicy by adding the jalapeno seeds to the sauce.  I did not use the entire jalapeno, my girls have wimpy taste buds!

This recipe uses a marinade, a peanut sauce and cucumber raita.  It seems like a lot of sauces to make, but you can whip ’em up fast and the chicken is simply grilled in minutes (could broil it now that it is winter!)  The most time consuming part is cutting the chicken into chunks (I find this easier if the chicken has been frozen and is partially thawed) and threading them onto skewers.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce (Cucumber Raita recipe to follow)

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks or 2×3/4×1/4 inch strips

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

3 medium cloves garlic, minced (I pressed mine)

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil ( I used coconut oil)

3 tablespoons coconut milk

1 tablespoon sugar ( I used sucunat)

1 cup smooth peanut butter

2 lrg. cloves garlic, minced (I pressed)

2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 fresh jalapeno chilies, seeded, minced (for even more spice, add seeds)

1 cup coconut milk, enough to thin out mixture

salt to taste

1. Prepare marinade.  Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to dissolve sugar.  Add chicken and toss.  Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes

2. Meanwhile, prepare sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients except coconut milk and salt in food processor. (can use blender)  Pulse until mixture is smooth.  Add enough coconut milk to thin out sauce to dipping consistency, about 1 cup.  Taste and add salt if desired.

3. Heat grill or broiler.  Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto skewers.  Discard marinade.

Grill 3-5 minutes on each side until completely cooked through.

4. Make a puddle of sauce onto a serving platter.  Arrange skewers on top of sauce.  OR just serve sauce along side of chicken on each plate.

**see that tropical rice to the side?  Yum!  I will post the recipe soon**

1 medium cucumber

2 cups unsweetened, plain whole-milk yogurt

1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds (*toasting is key!  adds such great flavor. see note below)

21/2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or fresh cilantro

1 medium clove garlic, minced

Peel cucumber and cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices; cut slices crosswise into thin slices.  Spread on double layer of paper towels and top with single layer.  Pat to remove excess moisture.  Stir yogurt and cumin seeds in medium bowl.  Add cucumber, mint or cilantro, and garlic; stir to combine.

*To toast cumin seeds, place in small skillet on medium-high heat.  Shake handle to redistribute seeds.  Cook until sees start to brown.  Remove from heat.  If you leave them on the heat too long, the will start to pop out of pan.  

I hope you enjoy this as much as our family did!  It truly is a wonderful, super flavorful dish!!