Home / All Recipes / Indonesian / Sate Ayam Madura - Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Sate Ayam Madura - Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Name: Sate Ayam Madura - Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 250 gram peanut, toasted/roasted; 3 candlenuts (Indonesian: kemiri); 6 red cayenne chilies (Indonesian: cabe merah keriting) (*); 4 tablespoon coconut palm sugar (Indonesian: gula Jawa); 2 1/2 teaspoon salt; 600 ml water; 600 gram chicken thigh meat, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (**); 4 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis); 2 teaspoon oil; bamboo skewers (about 20); sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis); lime wedges (Indonesian: jeruk nipis); deep-fried shallots (Indonesian: bawang goreng)

Last updated: Oct 12, 2015 — Published: Oct 12, 2015 — By: Anita — 14 comments

Iconic Indonesian chicken satay complete with spicy peanut sauce dressing that just as good as those you find in Indonesia, so what are you waiting for?

Sate ayam Madura is probably what comes to most people’s mind when sate/satay is mentioned. Indonesia has a lot of sate/satay varieties, but this is the default when no other additional information is supplied. Most people enjoyed sate ayam Madura with a side of lontong as a complete meal. If you order a plate of nasi goreng (fried rice), most places will give you one or two skewers of sate ayam to go with your nasi goreng.

Sate Ayam Madura - Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

What is sate ayam and what do you need to make sate at home?

Sate/satay is Indonesian skewered dishes, typically meat. Ayam is Indonesian for chicken. So, sate ayam is simply, skewered chicken.

What do you need to prepare Indonesian sate ayam?

For the sate ayam (chicken satay), you will need:

chicken thigh meat
kecap manis/Indonesian sweet soy sauce
oil
bamboo skewers

It is best if you can soak the bamboo skewers overnight before threading the meat and grilling. Soaked skewers are less prone to burning, especially if you decide to grill your satay in an oven.

For the saus kacang (spicy peanut sauce), you will need:

toasted/roasted peanut
candlenuts
red chilies. Use Fresno/cayenne chilies for a milder sauce, and bird-eye chilies for a hotter sauce.
palm sugar, or substitute with dark brown sugar
salt
water

How do you cook sate/satay?

Whether you are buying satay from street vendors or from a restaurant, your sate/satay will always be cooked with a charcoal grill. Of course, that is also the best way to prepare satay at home, especially during summer months when the weather is just perfect for some outdoor grilling. For any other time, you can grill satay indoor too, such as:

with a grill pan on a stovetop
under the broiler in an oven

Regardless of grilling choice, here is what you need to do.

Prepare the peanut sauce. Grind together peanuts, candlenuts, and chilies. Then transfer this to a saucepot along with the rest of sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
Grill the satay. Marinate chicken with kecap manis, oil, and 150 gram of the peanut sauce for 30 minutes. Thread/skewer the marinated chicken with bamboo skewers. Then grill until chicken is cooked and slightly charred, baste with marinating sauce as needed.

What do you serve with sate ayam?

The grilled chicken satay is usually served immediately with the peanut sauce and its accompaniments. Some popular accompaniments for sate include:

kecap manis
fresh lime juice
deep fried shallots (Indonesian: bawang goreng)

The most popular choice of carb for sate is usually lontong/steamed rice cakes. But you can serve sate with steamed white rice, or Indonesian fried rice/nasi goreng too.