Malaysian satay beef skewers

This recipe from Malaysia takes a little more time to prepare than opening a jar of ready-made sauce, but it’s worth the effort.

Preparation time:  Around 15 minutes (plus 2 hours marinating time)

Cooking time:  Around 35 minutes

This is a recipe adapted from one I picked up from a cookery school in Malaysian Borneo, and although it takes a bit of time to mix all of the ingredients together, it’s actually dead simple to make!  As ever, you can adjust the chilli content depending on how spicy you like your satay sauce – or you can omit the chillies completely if you prefer.  The sauce and marinade also work just as well with chicken if you don’t fancy beef.

Ingredients (serves 2):

Marinade:

• Turmeric – 1 tsp.
• Lemongrass – 1 stalk, sliced (or use lemongrass paste, which is easier to mix)
• Garlic – 1 clove, crushed (or use garlic puree, which is easier to mix)
• Palm sugar – 1 tbsp.
• Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp.
• Salt – a pinch
• Beef, rump steak – 1 good sized steak, sliced into thin strips

Satay sauce:

• Garlic – 1 clove, crushed
• Onions – 2, finely diced
• Lemongrass – 1 stalk, sliced (or use lemongrass paste)
• Turmeric – 1 tsp.
• Star anise – 1 tsp.
• Cinnamon – 1 tsp.
• Cardamom – 1 tsp.
• Cloves – 1 tsp.
• Lime juice – 2 tbsp.
• Fish sauce – 1 tbsp.
• Palm sugar – 1 tbsp.
• Salt – 1 tsp.
• Red chillies – 4 (or to taste), finely chopped (or use a chilli paste)
• Sesame seeds – 2 tbsp.
• Roasted peanuts – 150g, ground
• Coconut milk – 250ml
• Salad – to serve

Method:

1. Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, making sure all the beef strips are well coated.  Cling-film and marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours;
2. To make the satay sauce, first mix together the garlic, onion, lemongrass and turmeric into a paste (you can do this by hand, or you could use a hand-blender or food-processor);
3. In a sauce pan, heat a little vegetable oil and gently fry the star anise, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves (known in Malaysia as the “four brothers” or “four siblings”).  When these are fragrant, add the garlic/onion/lemongrass/turmeric paste to the sauce pan, and cook gently for around 5 minutes;
4. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, salt and chillies (if using).  Cook for about another 5 minutes;
5. Add the sesame seeds and the ground roasted peanuts (if you can’t find ground roasted peanuts, buy roasted peanuts and grind them yourself with a pestle and mortar, or in a food-processor).  Stir the satay sauce, and then add the coconut milk a little at a time until the sauce is the desired consistency, then take the sauce off the heat;
6. Take the marinated beef strips and thread 4-5 pieces onto each skewer.  The beef strips don’t need to be basted with extra oil, as the marinade should be sufficient.  I like cooking these on the BBQ griddle plate, where they take about 8-10 minutes (turning every couple of minutes), but you can also cook the skewers under the grill if you prefer.  You could even do away with the skewers altogether and just pan-fry the beef strips!
7. Whatever your preferred cooking method, when the skewers are half cooked (i.e. after around 4-5 minutes on the BBQ griddle plate), baste each skewer with a tablespoon of the satay sauce.  When they have about 2 minutes left, baste them again with another spoonful and reheat the rest of the satay sauce;
8. When finished, serve a skewer on each plate with the satay sauce baste/marinade that it cooked in poured over the top, alongside some dressed salad, and with the rest of the satay sauce in a side dish.

Malaysian satay beef skewers