Sate daging (beef satay) with peanut sauce
Malaysian flavours abound in these marinated beef skewers, served with a tangy peanut sauce full of crunch and a fresh pineapple salad.
Ingredients
For the peanut sauce
- 150g/5½oz dry roasted peanuts
- 4 shallots, roughly chopped
- 8 dried red chillies, soaked and deseeded
- 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 lemongrass stalk
- 1cm/½in piece galangal, peeled
- 50ml/2fl oz vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 3 tbsp gula melaka (palm sugar) or dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1 lime, juice only, for seasoning
- 1 tsp salt, plus extra to taste
For the beef
- 400g/14oz beef fillet, cut into bite-size 3cm/1¼in chunks
For the sate daging paste
- 125²µ/4½´Ç³ú shallots, chopped into chunks
- 6 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 red chillies
- 2.5cm/1in piece galangal
For the marinade
- 2 limes, juice only
- 50g/1¾oz shaved gula melaka (palm sugar), or 3½ tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 6 tbsp ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1½ tsp salt
For the pineapple and cucumber salad
- 1 cucumber, cut into bite-sized chunks
- ½ pineapple, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2 sprigs fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp salt
Method
To make the peanut sauce, blend the peanuts in a food processor until they are fine but coarse. Remove from the mixer and set aside. In a clean food processor, blend the shallots, chillies, garlic, lemongrass and galangal until a smooth paste is achieved, adding 2–3 tablespoons of water to help it blend together if necessary.
Put the vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the spice paste you’ve just made and fry for 1–2 mins or until fragrant. Now add the rest of the ingredients – the peanuts, tamarind concentrate, salt, sugar, coriander and ketjap manis along with 200ml/⅓ pint water. Stir to combine well. Season this to your own taste with the lime juice and any extra salt and sugar that’s needed.
Keep this on a medium-low heat, stirring consistently so the base doesn’t catch, for around 15 minutes. The oil should separate from the mix once it is ready.
Make the sate daging paste by blending together the shallots, garlic, chilli and galangal in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. Once everything has combined, add in the sate daging paste and mix well.
Add the beef to the bowl and massage the marinade into the meat. Leave to marinate for at least 3 hours in the fridge, but preferably overnight.
Meanwhile, place 10–12 wooden skewers into a tray with water and let them soak for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Once marinated, begin to assemble the skewers by putting 3 or 4 chunks of meat on each one, continuing until there is no meat left.
To make the pineapple and cucumber salad, combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
When ready to cook the skewers, heat a cast iron griddle pan over a very high heat and brush with a little oil. When hot, add the skewers in batches and sear the meat on all sides for around 2 minutes per side until seared evenly. Be careful, the wooden skewer will be very hot so use a tea towel when turning them.
Serve the skewers immediately with peanut sauce and pineapple and cucumber salad alongside.
