An unbelievable chicken satay recipe that brings great flavours, with an unbelievable satay sauce accompanied by a sweet, hot and crunchy radish salad.
I think that summer for me really makes me want to make foods that have a little heat with great subtle flavours. Thinking this way always directs me to flavours from the far east such as Chinese, Thai and Indian.
This recipe of the satay flavours and a radish salad brings with it flavours from south-east Asia. The satay which commonly known goes great with chicken is an Indonesian dish and one found and classed mainly as street food. This is due to its ease of cooking which is generally meat being marinated and then skewered of which finished by cooking over hot coals.
This recipe is one of many that I have tried but found to be the best and one that my family and I enjoy the most. Found on Great British Chefs by Sally Abe. I really love how the chicken marinade is so simple and brings great punchy sweet and salty flavours from the ketjap manis and fish sauce and then brought together with a little garlic.
The actual recipe for the satay sauce I found to make quite a lot so I have trimmed it down slightly but as with the chicken marinade the flavours all come together beautifully with just enough heat from the chilli and sweetness from the coconut milk which politely allows the flavour of peanuts to remain its main focus and have a background of wonderful Indonesian flavours.
With the chicken cooked on a high heat skillet or in the garden over charcoal, it needed something to really liven it up and bring summer to the dish. I found this with a carrot and radish salad found on the BBC Good Food website. As with the chicken satay, this side has some lovely subtle flavours brought from the sweet chilli sauce, lime and fish sauce.
What I really love about this salad is its bright and vibrant colours and magnificent crunch that accompany the soft, slightly charred (which really enhances the marinade flavour) chicken satay.
So, there we go, some inspiration from some accomplished chefs from two renowned websites, however, the most important factor is a great meal for the family that is great anytime but amazing in the lovely weather and cooked outside on the BBQ.
Chicken Satay with Thai Carrot and Radish Salad
Ingredients
Chicken Satay
- 4 chicken breasts cut into large chunks
- 2 tbsp. ketjap manis
- 2 tbsp. fish sauce
- 2 Garlic cloves crushed
- 4 flat breads
Satay Sauce
- 1 red chilli deseeded and cut into chunks
- ½ red onion roughly chopped
- 2 cm ginger peeled
- 2 Garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tsp. Light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. Light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 100 g crunchy peanut butter
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 1 Lime juiced
Thai Carrot and Radish Salad
- 4 tbsp. sweet chilli sauce
- 1 Lime zest and juice
- 1 tsp. fish sauce
- 2 Carrots coarsely grated
- 10 radishes thinly sliced
- 2 large red spring onions thinly sliced
- handful thinly shredded basil only when required to stop it going black
Instructions
- To start put the ketjap manis, fish sauce and garlic in a bowl and mix well. Add the chicken pieces, then cover and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours but up to 24 hours if possible.
- Soak 8 wooden skewers in water while the chicken marinades (this stops them from burning when you cook the chicken).
- To make the satay sauce put the red chilli, red onion, ginger, light brown sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce in a food processer and blitz until you have smooth paste.
- Heat a small pan over a medium to high heat, add the olive oil, then add the paste and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and stir until the peanut butter starts to loosen and then add the coconut milk and stir until you have a nice thick sauce. Stir in the lime juice then place to the side until required.
- To make the salad mix together the chilli sauce, lime zest and juice and fish sauce in a medium sized bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, a pinch of sea salt, half the basil and stir well.
- When ready, heat a skillet on a high heat or start the BBQ and when thread the chicken onto the wooden skewers. Place the skewered chicken on the skillet or BBQ and cook until well coloured (a little charred edge is good) and cooked through which should be between 8 and 10 minutes and then allow to rest for a few minutes before service.
- While they are cooking warm the satay sauce ready to serve.
- To serve, place some chicken skewers on a plate along with some satay sauce, crunchy Thai salad, a warm flat bread and finish with a little chopped basil and extra lime if you desire.
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