Equipment: wooden skewers, hot grill

Time: 50 minutes

Hands-on: 50 minutes

Difficulty: ●●○○

Yields 6 servings

What You’ll Need

For the satays:

• Bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for 2 hours
• 4 chicken legs and thighs (preferred) or 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cucumber, cut into small pieces
• 1 small onion, quartered
• Oil, for basting

For the marinade:

• 3 Tbsp oil
• 2 stalks lemongrass, white parts only
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 6 shallots, peeled
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp salt, or to taste
• 2 Tbsp honey

For the Peanut Sauce:

• 2/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp (for mild), or up to 2 Tbsp (for hot), hot sauce such as Sriracha

Cooking Instructions

1. Cut the chicken meat into small cubes.
2. Blend the marinade ingredients in a food processor. Add a little water if needed.
3. Combine the marinade and chicken pieces in a gallon-size ziplock bag for 6 hours or overnight.
4. Whisk the ingredients for the dipping sauce together in a medium mixing bowl. Transfer to a small covered bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Thread a few pieces of chicken meat onto each bamboo skewer.
6. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side, brushing with some oil while grilling, until nicely charred.

Finishing Touches

Serve the satays hot, with the fresh cucumber pieces and onions and with peanut dipping sauce. This can be an appetizer by itself, a fun party food, or can be one item in a larger southeast Asian themed dinner. Satays are common to Malaysia and Thailand.

Suggested Mead Pairings

Pair with citrus meads from Moonlight Meadery like chilled Smitten (peach); Mojo (Lime, Mint) or a light traditional mead like Mesquite Blossom, lightly chilled. 

This recipe was taken from The Art of Mead Tasting and Food Pairing by Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor. Visit www.meadandfood.com to get your copy.