Satay

Satay ( , in USA also , ), or sate in Indonesian spelling, is a Southeast Asian dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. The earliest preparations of satay is believed to have originated in Javanese cuisine, but has spread to almost anywhere in Indonesia, where it has become a national dish. Indonesian satay is often served with peanut sauce – a sauce made from peanut butter, and is often accompanied with lontong, a type of rice cake, though the diversity of the country has produced a wide variety of satay recipes. It is also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries including Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It is also recognized and popular in Suriname and the Netherlands.
In Sri Lanka, it has become a staple of the local diet as a result of the influences from the local Malay community.

Satay may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; bamboo skewers are often used, while rustic style of preparations employ skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond. These are grilled or barbecued over a wood or charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasonings. Satay can be served in various sauces; however, most often they are served in a combination of soy and peanut sauce. Hence, peanut sauce is often called satay sauce. It is popular as street food, and it can be obtained from a travelling satay vendor, from a street-side tent-restaurant, in an upper-class restaurant, or at traditional celebration feasts.

Close analogues are yakitori from Japan, kǎoròu chuàn from China, seekh kebab from the Indian Subcontinent, shish kebab from Turkey and the Middle East, shashlik from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, and sosatie from South Africa. It is listed at number 14 on ''World's 50 most delicious foods'' readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.

Origin and history

According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the English word ''satay'' is derived from the Malay word , also or in Indonesian, ultimately originating from Tamil (, a regional variant of meaning 'flesh'. The term is mentioned as ''saté'' in Dutch with one of earliest photographs of satay seller appeared circa 1870 in Java, Dutch East Indies. The usage in English was first attested in 1917 with reference to a "" seller in Singapore, later a mention of in Denpasar, Bali appeared in 1937, with a description of Malays cooking ''satay'' appearing in 1955. Satay may have been developed by Javanese street vendors as an adaptation of kebabs from the Indian Subcontinent. The introduction of satay, and other now-iconic dishes such as and based on meats such as goat and lamb, coincided with an influx of Indian and Arab traders and immigrants starting in the 18th century. The Indonesian publication ''Koran Jakarta'' claimed that ''sate'', and ultimately satay, originated from Javanese term ''sak beteng'' which means one stick, and traced its exact origin to the area which is today Ponorogo Regency, East Java, and that the dish had existed as early as the 15th century.

From Java, satay spread through the Indonesian Archipelago and, as a consequence, numerous variations of the dish have been developed. By the late-19th century, satay had crossed the Strait of Malacca into neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. In the 19th century, the term migrated, presumably with Malay immigrants from the Dutch East Indies, to South Africa, where it is known as . The Indo Dutch people took this dish, as well as many other Indonesian specialties, to the Netherlands, thereby influencing Dutch cuisine.

Preparation

Satay can be made from various meats. Meat commonly used includes chicken, lamb, goat, mutton, beef, venison, and rabbit; seafood such as fish, shrimp, and squid; or offal such as liver, intestine, and tripe. Some have also used more exotic varieties of meat, such as turtle, crocodile, horse, lizard, and snake meat. Chicken is most common, but the other meats are frequently used. Satay is made by cutting the meat into small cube shapes, about thumb-size. However, such recipes as Ponorogo use chicken fillet cut into an elongated finger-like shape, thus one skewer holds only one piece. Yogyakarta has a special goat satay called Sate Klatak the difference between other satays is using iron bars for the stick.

The skewers used for chicken satay are traditionally made from ''lidi'', a midrib of coconut fronds. Bamboo skewers might be used instead. For firmer meats, such as lamb, goat, and beef, a thicker bamboo skewer is used. The skewers are usually soaked in water before using to avoid burning during grilling. Each skewer usually holds four pieces of meat, some only three pieces. A goat meat satay might insert a cube of fat between meat cubes. Turmeric is required to marinate satay to give the dish its characteristic yellow colour. Another popular marinade is sweet soy sauce mixed with coconut oil or palm margarine. The skewered meat is seasoned, marinated, and then grilled on charcoal embers.

Satay may be served with a spicy peanut sauce dip, or peanut gravy, served with slices of '' lontong'' or '' ketupat'' (rice cakes), garnished with a sprinkle of '' bawang goreng'' (crisp fried shallot), and accompanied by '' acar'' (pickles) consisting of slivers of onions, carrots, and cucumber