Loving chefs recipes

Chicken Satay

The Sultanate of Brunei is quite a surprising country! Governed by generous and megalomaniac Sultan Hassanal Bulkiah since 1968, this small country of 400,000 people can claim to be among the nations whose GDP per capita is the highest in the world, thanks to petrodollars which are literally flowing.
In practice, this means that people do not pay taxes, for health or for education … and gas is also offered.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

For marinated chicken skewers

• - 4 chicken breasts
• - 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• - a few slices of fresh ginger
• - 2 tablespoons of sugar
• - 2 teaspoons of turmeric
• - 1 teaspoon of cumin
• - 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• - fresh or dried chili to taste
• - 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• - bamboo skewers

For the satay sauce

• - 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• - 2 tablespoons of sugar
• - 3 tablespoons of peanut butter
• - a handful of unsalted peanuts
• - 2 teaspoons of turmeric
• - 1 teaspoon of cumin
• - 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
• - fresh or dried chili to taste
• - 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• - 2 tablespoons of soy sauce

For the cucumber salad

• - 1 cucumber
• - 2 shallots
• - 4 tablespoons of white vinegar
• - 5 tablespoons of sugar
• - 1 teaspoon of salt

Preparation

Marinated chicken skewers

Cut the chicken into small cubes.
In a large bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken breast and mix well to soak all the pieces in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours minimum.
Soak the bamboo skewers in a bowl of cold water for a minimum of 30 minutes before use. This trick helps to prevent them from darkening during cooking. (You may notice a few dark bamboo skewers on the photos: it is precisely skewers that were broken and that I had to change right before grilling and that I therefore didn’t have time to soak).
Prepare chicken skewers and cook on the barbecue for about 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.

Satay Sauce

Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold coconut milk. Then add all other sauce ingredients (except the handful of peanuts) and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes.
Toast peanuts in a dry skillet. Crush into small pieces and add to the sauce.
Serve this hot sauce as a side for the skewers.

Cucumber Salad

In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt and heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved (about 5 minutes).
Let cool, then refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Cut the cucumber into medium slices, mince the shallots. Just before serving, add the chilled sauce and mix well.