Malaysian Beef Satay
Level: Intermediate Prep Time: 15 minutes Inactive Prep Time: 12+ hours/overnight Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 16 Servings
Ingredients
Meat and Skewers:
16-20 bamboo skewers, soaked in water
2 lbs. beef, sirloin, Ribeye,or Flank steak....cut into 1/4 inch thick strips or 3/4-1 inch cubes
Marinade:
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
10 shallots, peeled, cut and halved
3 cloves garlic, peeled
4 stalks lemongrass, white part only, cut into 1-inch length
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons oil
1-2 tablespoon water
Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:
5 tablespoons oil
3/4 tablespoon seedless tamarind pulp*, soaked in 3 1/2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup roasted peanuts, skins removed and coarsely blended
3/4 cup water
Sugar, to taste
Salt, to taste
Spice Paste:
1 tablespoon oil
5-6 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons coriander powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin powder
3 stalks lemongrass, white part only, cut into 1-inch length
3/4 inch greater galangal*, sliced (looks like ginger root)
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3 shallots, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
salt and sugar to taste
Directions
Marinade:
Blend all the ingredients in Marinade into a smooth paste. Heat up some oil in a wok, stir-fry the Marinade until fragrant and the oil slightly separates from it. Transfer out and set aside.
Marinate the beef pieces with the Marinade overnight. Keep in the refrigerator.
Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:
Extract the juice from the tamarind pulp, discard the pulps. Blend the Spice Paste ingredients into a smooth paste. Add some water if needed.
Heat up the oil in a pan, stir-fry the spice paste until fragrant, turn the heat to medium-high and continue cooking until the oil slightly separates.
Add in the tamarind juice, peanuts, water, stir well and bring it to a quick boil. Cover the pan, turn the heat to low and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Add sugar and salt sugar to taste. Dish out and set aside.
Making and Cooking Beef Satay:
Make the satay skewers with 3-4 pieces of the marinated beef threaded onto each bamboo skewer. Repeat until you use all the meat. Grill the satay over a charcoal grill or outdoor gas grill until both sides are slightly charred and the meat is cooked through.
CHEF TIPS:
What is Tamarind?
Tamarind, is also known as Indian date , the tamarind is the fruit of a tall shade tree native to Asia and northern Africa and widely grown in India. Whole tamarind pods are used for it's tangy, sour flavor. Available in whole pods or tamarind paste
Substitute - If you’re unable to find tamarind pulp, you can mix the juice of lemon with an equal amount of light brown sugar. The lemon sugar substitute won’t give the same complexity of flavor the tamarind pulp will, but it will work in a pinch
What is Galangal?
Galangal is a close relative to ginger. There are several varieties with the most common are "greater galangal" and "lesser galangal." Lesser galangal roots look like long fingers, whereas greater galangal looks like fresh ginger. Both are used in South East Asian cooking. You can find fresh galangal in Asian markets or on Amazon @ Thai Fresh galangal
Substitute - the best substitute for greater galangal is 1 tablespoon young, fresh ginger root with 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
