Saté Ajam met Pindasaus

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12 bamboo skewers, about 20 cm, soaked 30 minutes, or metal skewers
• •Charcoal grill or heavy ridged grill pan
• •Small saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the chicken

   Whisk the ketjap manis, oil, sambal, garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, salt, and lime juice or tamarind water in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn it until every piece is dark and glossy. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 12; the salt enters the meat, the sugar waits for the coals, and the garlic stops being raw.

   Use thigh meat. Breast can be done, but it gives you no mercy on the grill; thigh stays juicy long enough for the ketjap to darken at the edges.
2. 2

   Soften the aromatics

   For the pindasaus, warm the oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until soft and pale gold, not browned. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and coriander for 30 seconds, just until their smell rises from the pan.

3. 3

   Build the sauce

   Add the peanut butter, then pour in the water in slow splashes, stirring until the sauce loosens. Stir in the ketjap manis, sambal, tamarind or lime, and sugar. Let it murmur gently for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil it hard. Peanut sauce splits when bullied, and no amount of scholarship will put it back together.

   Pindasaus thickens as it stands. Keep a little hot water nearby and loosen it by the spoonful until it pours slowly rather than landing like mortar.
4. 4

   Thread the skewers

   If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes while the sauce rests. Thread 5 or 6 pieces of chicken onto each skewer, snug but not packed tight. A little space lets the heat reach the sides, and saté should cook all around, not only on the parts that touched the grate.

5. 5

   Grill the saté

   Prepare a medium-hot charcoal grill, or heat a heavy grill pan until a drop of water skitters away at once. Oil the grate lightly. Grill the skewers for 8 to 10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until the edges are dark and lightly charred and the thickest pieces register 74C. Discard the leftover marinade; it has done its work and must not come back to the table.

   If you cook indoors, work in batches and give each skewer room. Crowding makes chicken stew in its own juices, which is not saté, only impatience with sticks in it.
6. 6

   Serve generously

   Warm the sauce gently and loosen it with a spoonful or two of water if needed. Lay the skewers on a platter, spoon a little pindasaus over them, and serve the rest in a bowl. Scatter with fried shallots if you like, add cucumber half-moons and lime wedges, and pass everything while the chicken is still glossy from the grill. Hou het altijd simpel: skewer, sauce, fingers, napkin.

Chef Tips

• •Ketjap manis matters here. Ordinary soy sauce gives salt but not the dark sweetness that makes the chicken lacquer on the grill; if you must improvise, mix dark soy with brown sugar and accept that you are making a practical stand-in.
• •Do not make the sauce with sweetened peanut butter. The ketjap and palm sugar already know their job, and breakfast peanut butter will push the sauce toward dessert.
• •Serve atjar tjampoer, mixed pickles, or plain cucumber beside the skewers. The sharpness cuts through the peanut sauce and makes the next skewer possible.
• •For a party, keep raw skewers covered in the refrigerator until the grill is ready, and do not leave cooked chicken at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Hospitality has rules too.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken can marinate up to 12 hours ahead. Longer than that and the salt and acid begin to make the texture woolly.
• •The pindasaus can be made 3 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat gently with splashes of water until it returns to a slow pour.
• •The skewers can be threaded up to 4 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring them out 15 minutes before grilling so they cook evenly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)