Recipe - Satay Kai (Chicken Satay)

1 teaspoon Coriander seed
1 teaspoon Cumin seed
1 tablespoon Chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Fresh grated ginger
1 pound Chicken breasts; skinned,
boned, and cut into bite
sized pieces, about
2 tablespoon Fish sauce
1 tablespoon Curry powder (Thais use a
mix called "phom kari", but
an Indian style Madras
curry powder is fine)
1 pn Turmeric powder (it's only a
colorant, so very little!)
8 tablespoon Coconut milk
3 tablespoon Palm sugar

Satay of course is originally an Indonesian/Malay dish, but it has been in
Southern Thailand for a very long time. This is a Thai version. You can of
course also make the same recipe with chunks of beef or pork, or large
prawns (if you can get the very large ones [34 per pound] then they are
usually deheaded and the skewer threaded lengthwise down the body.

The chicken is beaten flat, using the flat of the blade of a heavy cleaver
(or using a meattenderising mallet, or the 'sahk' of the mortar and pestle
(i.e. the grinding piece, not the bowl :) in Thailand these are usually
granite. You could also use a rolling pin...)

The coriander and cumin are toasted and then crushed in a mortar and pestle
or food processor (coffee grinder...) The ingredients are then combined to
form a marinade, and the chicken is marinated overnight.

The pices of chicken are then threaded on the 8" satay sticks, lossely
folding them in half and piercing through the folded meat to form a loose
gather.

The completed sticks are then grilled, broiled or barbequed on fairly high
heat (they taste best done over charcoal, as they absorb the smoke). Turn
them regularly and brush them liberally with the remaining marinade.
Cooking should take between 5 and 10 minutes depending on the heat of your
cooker. Posted to KitMailbox Digest by gigimfg@ix.netcom.com on Jul 9, 1997