Sate Ayam Bumbu Kacang (Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce)

Sate Ayam Bumbu Kacang (Satay with Peanut Sauce) – Learn how to make authentic Indonesian sate ayam (Chicken satay) served with delicious peanut sauce that you want to drizzle on pretty much everything.

Sate Ayam Bumbu Kacang (Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce)

Indonesian cuisine may not be popular outside of Southeast Asia, but the majority of us sure heard of sate (satay). Sate is basically a meat or sometimes offals skewered on bamboo sticks and then grilled. They are usually served with sauce. Many people think that when it comes to sate, the sauce that comes with it is usually peanut based. That’s not always the case people! There are many different kind of sate in Indonesia and some of them do not have peanut-based sauce. For example: Sate Padang, Sate Lilit Bali, Sate Ayam Kecap

SPECIAL INGREDIENTS USED FOR THIS SATE AYAM BUMBU KACANG

You can read about all these special ingredients in my Southeast Asian Pantry
Coriander powder
Coriander powder is one of the ingredients that my mom must have in her chicken and pork satay. It adds that nice lemony flavor
Kecap manis
It’s hard to make Indonesian food without kecap manis. It is truly one of the quintessential ingredients in Indonesian cooking

Sate Ayam are ready for the oven

HOW TO MAKE GOOD SATE AYAM BUMBU KACANG

1. The meat you use
I never use chicken breast for sate. Sorry folks, I don’t like the lean chicken breast for sate. It’s just not the same. It gives me a cringe when I’m served sate made with chicken breast. If you want good sate, please use chicken thighs or other dark meat. It makes a HUGE difference. You can always trim off excess fat from chicken thighs.

2. The marinade
Yes, you need to ensure the meat has been marinated enough to get that flavorful meat. I usually let them marinate overnight, but at least 1 hour or the meat will not be as flavorful.

3. Broil after you bake
If you bake the satay in the oven, broil them briefly on low heat after. This creates a nice golden brown and light caramelization of the marinade.

4. And of course the bumbu kacang (peanut sauce)
A lot of Indonesian food has peanut-based sauce such as gado gado, Lotek, and Ketoprak. They all have peanut-based sauce, but with slightly different ingredients. This peanut sauce doesn’t have coconut milk like in the one for gado gado.

CAN I USED PEANUT BUTTER TO MAKE THE BUMBU KACANG

Yes, you may. I have tried that several times and I love it just as much. This recipe while provides an authentic taste of Indonesian sate ayam, it has that flexibility in terms of convenience too.

Sate Ayam Bumbu Kacang (Satay with Peanut Sauce)

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Resting time 30 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Servings 25 satay

4.9 from 10 votes

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Ingredients

  

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• 700 gr boneless skinless chicken thighs about 1 1/2 lbs

Marinade:

• 1 medium purple onion peeled and quartered
• 4 cloves garlic peeled
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 1 stalk lemongrass trim off the woody end
• 1 ½ Tbsp coriander powder
• 4 candlenuts sub with macadamia nuts
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 Tbsp kecap manis
• ½ tsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp turmeric powder

Bumbu kacang (Peanut sauce):

• 2 garlic peeled and minced
• 5 Thai red chili optional
• 100 gr unsalted roasted peanuts see notes for substitution
• 100 ml water or more as needed
• 2 Tbsp coconut sugar or more as needed
• 1 Tbsp kecap manis
• ½ tsp salt or more as needed

What you need:

• 25 bamboo skewers
• Butter or cooking oil for brushing during cooking

Serve with:

• Fried shallots crisp bawang goreng
• Kecap manis

Instructions

 

Preparing chicken and marinate:

• Cut the chicken into long strips, about 3-inch (about 8 cm) long and 1-inch (2.5 cm) wide, don't have to be exact, just an estimate. Place in a mixing bowl. Place all ingredients for marinade in a blender or food processor and grind into a paste. Have a taste. The marinade should be more at the sweet side
• Add chicken pieces and toss to make sure all pieces are coated with the marinade. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour if you are pressed for time. I highly recommend to marinade it overnight
• After that, weave one strip of meat into a skewer and repeat with the rest. Save the marinade juice for basting the meat later
• Meanwhile soak the bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 1 hour before you plan to cook the sate so they don't break easily when you grill them

Preparing bumbu kacang:

• Place garlic and chili in hot boiling water and let them sit for 10 minutes. The purpose of doing this is to get rid of the raw taste of garlic and chili in the sauce. Discard water and proceed below
• Give the food processor a rinse of water and then place the rest of the ingredients in. Process into a creamy peanut sauce. Add more water to the consistency you like

Cooking the satay by grilling:

• Get your grill ready and grill the satay about 5-8 minutes per side. Brush with some marinade juice on one side, turn over and cook and brush with some butter/cooking oil on the other side and grill until they are cooked through (the meat should turn opaque and pull easily. Internal temperature will be about 165 F) and has nice golden brown on them and has a nice shine

Cooking the satay in the oven:

• Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the satay on the baking sheet, they can be close to each other. Brush with some marinade juice and bake for 8-10 minutes on one side, turn over and brush with some butter or oil and bake for another 5-8 minutes. You don't want to overcook the meat as they will dry out. The chicken turns opaque and pull easily when cooked through. The internal temperature is 165 F
• After that turn off the oven and turn on the broiler on low and let the satay broiled until it has nice golden brown. Take care not to burn them

Serving:

• Serve the satay with bumbu kacang on the side or drizzle them with bumbu kacang, some kecap manis and sprinkle of crispy shallots and you are ready to go

Notes

You can use creamy peanut butter. Substitute with 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter. I highly suggest using the natural peanut butter. You may need to adjust the amount of water to the consistency you like. It should be thick but still pourable

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