Satay

[Gul_Dekar]

Hi, was wondering if there's anyone out there who knows a real good authentic Malaysian satay recipe that would taste almost as close to satay you would find from those Malay street vendors. Miss them over here in Toronto. I've tried a few online ones, and they just dont taste quite right.

[Shiewie]

Will have a look at my locally printed Malaysian cokbooks to see if there's one when I get home. There are some online on kuali.com (if you haven't tried them already).

Wouldn't know whether they'd taste like the real thing though as it's much easier to pay 50 sen (USD 12.5 cents) a stick than to make one's own. It's likely that the charcoal trough burners that the satayman uses would make a difference in taste too (assume you're using a bbq).

[Gul_Dekar]

Well it's quite expensive here, they dont give u a lot, and most places arent really that good. Probably couldnt even beat the satay stalls at the nearest food court back home where I live...and those were just typical satay stalls.

Thanks for the help btw!!!

[Solo Banana]

Herewith my butcher's recipe-

Equal quantities of fresh ginger and galangal,minced and strained thru' a cloth too capture the juices.(dicard the minced veggie matter)

FRESH turmeric powder/ground coriander and cumin in equal quantities

Gula Apong-a thick viscuous sugar very brown in colour,or a block of palm sugar ground and dilute too taste in the ginger liquid

Mix all with meat strips-chicken or beef, marinate for 24 hours thread and grill over smoky charcoal

All quantities according to your own taste

[Shiewie]

Have found 3 recipes (surprisingly few Malaysian cookbooks have satay recipes ), one dates back to the 1950s from one of mum's cookbooks. Will PM them to you soon.

[Gul_Dekar]

Sweet! Thanks Shiewie!!! & Thanks Solo Banana too!!

Edited April 13, 2004 by Gul_Dekar (log)

[JustKay]

Hi, was wondering if there's anyone out there who knows a real good authentic Malaysian satay recipe that would taste almost as close to satay you would find from those Malay street vendors. Miss them over here in Toronto. I've tried a few online ones, and they just dont taste quite right.

Let me know if you need more 'authentic' recipes to try.

[Packo]

Check out my website for Malaysian satay recipe!

[Packo]

Ooops! Forgot to give you the link...

It's www.malaysianfood.net

[origamicrane]

thats a good site

the recipes look the most authentic i have seen :)

will try making the chilli crab and satay asap:)

[origamicrane]

very simple question

how do you make the rice cake thats usually served with the satay?

[Shiewie]

The rice cakes / cubes are called nasi impit (pressed rice).

Just cook some rice with pandan leaves and a bit of salt to taste. Transfer the rice onto a baking dish, cover it with some plastic wrap / muslin cloth and place a heavy object on top of it to press it down and leave it aside for a few hours (6 hours or so). Cut into cubes with a wet knife (it won't be so sticky if you use a wet knife).

One of my aunts has a speeded up version ... she used to make her nasi impit in one of these old Jacob's Cream Crackers tin containers (the old oblong kind where the cover of the tin container is as big as the container itself) and my Uncle George would be required to sit on the flattened cover... with a couple of phone directories in between .

kew - how about posting your satay recipe here .

[JustKay]

Shiewie! LOL @ Uncle George.

Just some additional pointers - cook the rice with extra water so that it is very soft. You cannot make Nasi Himpit with 'regular rice'. The rice should be soft that it's broken when stirred and the whole thing is like a very thick glob. Stirring the rice this way will make very fine textured Nasi Himpit. Himpit in Malay means to squeeze/wedge in between. If you can get the correct consistency, you don't even have to press it. Just put the container in the fridge overnight and it will set pefectly.

Otherwise, you can put the rice in a ziploc bag, pat/form into a block with even thickness and seal while pushing out the air (must gauge the size of ziploc bag or the rice cake will be too thin). Put a pot of water on top or anything heavy. Leave overnight.

Traditionally, this rice is wrapped in a cloth so that it gives off excess moisture while cooling. Just put the rice in the centre of a big enough clean white cloth and 'wrap' tightly making a square (or rectangle ) block and press.

I like to use Jasmine rice when making it because it makes soft Nasi Himpit - but Jasmine rice also makes sticky Nasi Himpit so it's more difficult to handle. Like Shiewie said, use wet knife. Cutting while it's still cold from the fridge also helps. Then just nuke them to warm up the rice cubes.

The traditional choice of rice is the 'broken' rice which is mainly used to make porridge.

And for a more authentic accompaniment to Satay, you'll have to make Ketupat. how to weave a simple ketupat There are several shapes and I know of only 3. My Grandma knew 5 different designs but unfortunately nobody learnt it from her. But for Satay, the ketupat casing is weaved in the simplest form which is shown on the site. Try using 'paper' ribbons to practise. I made some using stiff ribbons and sent to my friends in the US and they use it to keep potpourri.

edited to add - these rice cubes can also be eaten with Rendang or Sambal Kacang or Sayur Lodeh (which is the dish called Lontong in Johor)

Also, you can now find ready-to-cook ketupat in packs like this one:

Ketupat Nona

Just boil them for 90 mins, let cool overnight and perfect Nasi Himpit every time. It also has the 'pandan' fragrance.

Another brand Adabi also adds 'coconut leave' fragrance to it's ready-to-cook ketupat. Even I use this one most of the time - it's getting harder to find young coconut leaves at the wet market unless it's the Eid.

Edited June 18, 2004 by kew (log)

[origamicrane]

cool will give that a try next weekend:)

thanks for that all i need now is a authentic hawker stand bbq tray:)

[origamicrane]

hi all

finally tried that satay recipe from packo's recipe website www.malaysianfood.net

it the best satay i've made , just like the real ones you get back in KL.

Although the satay sauce recipe is on the large scale!! ended up with a massive saucepan of satay sauce!! also thought the sauce was slightly on the salty side but apart from that its a perfect recipe:)

thanks packo

[Beebs]

Reviving this ancient topic.....

 

I've just returned from Singapore a couple weeks ago and last night I had a jonesing for Malaysian/Singapore satay & a couple Tiger beers. Unfortunately didn't have any of the ingredients (not even the Tigers!). 

 

The last time I made satay was quite a few years ago, and in the broiler, since we didn't have a grill yet.  Planning to remedy that right away. The recipe from malaysianfood.net (from up top) looks decent, so I'll give that a whirl.

 

Anyone have a fabulous satay recipe, dipping sauce recipe, tips? 

[janeer]

The old link above appears to still work. http://www.malaysianfood.net/recipes/recipesatay.htm

[kwankapang]

Malaysian Satay

 

To those who crave for authentic Malaysian satay, this is the one from my restaurant.

 

Ingredients:

 

Meat (chicken / lamb / beef) 1kg

Turmeric powder 4g

Sugar 80g

White pepper powder 6g

Coriander powder 8g

Fennel powder 10g

Cumin powder 10g

Vegetable oil 150g

Sweet soy sauce 20g

Salt 10g

 

 

Blend:

 

Lemongrass 70g

Onion 110g

Garlic 30g

Galangal 110g

Belacan (shrimp paste) 7g

 

Method:

 

1. Cut the meat into 1cm cubes.

2. Blend the lemongrass, onion, garlic, galangal, and belacan until it becomes a paste.

3. Add the remaining ingredients and the blended paste.

4. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

5  Put the meat onto the bamboo skewers. (Soaking the bamboo skewers before using can help avoid burning of the skewer).

6. Baste the satay with oil and grill until golden brown.

 

 

You can find more about satay (and other Malaysian food) here: 

 

http://tasteasianfood.com/malaysian-chinese-recipe/

 

[Smithy]

Thanks so much for reviving this topic, kwankapang. I've loved the satays I've tried at restaurants here in the United States, and look forward to trying to make it myself without using a packaged mix. :-)

[kwankapang]

Hi Smithy,it

 

Glad to know you love Malaysian satay.  Would love to know the result if you ever want to make from scratch.

 

KP Kwan