Diana Chan reveals her secret satay recipe in her popular chicken dish

When HWKR approached me to take on one of their pop-up leases at their food hall in the Melbourne CBD, I came up with a Malaysian street food concept, which offers both traditional and fusion dishes.

It was then that Chanteen was born, using family recipes passed down through the generations.

Chanteen is cooking from scratch with no shortcuts, and this is my secret satay recipe.

It is one our top-selling dishes along with the Char Kuey Teow. Don’t be overwhelmed by the list of ingredients as I guarantee you it is worth the hassle.

Do it over the weekend, allowing 24 hours for the meat to marinate and if you haven’t got a charcoal grill, use the barbecue instead.

However, charcoal will give you a deeper and smokier flavour, which you can’t get from an electric grill.

• If you think it’s all too much work, pop down to Chanteen before it closes on August 12.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

• 1.5kg chicken thigh (skin off), cut into bite-sized pieces
• Honey and water mixture, for basting
• Chicken satay marinade
• 200g shallots
• 100g garlic
• 25g galangal
• 60g lemongrass
• 25g ginger
• 20g turmeric powder
• 100g brown sugar
• 20g cumin powder
• 20g fennel powder
• 20g coriander powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• Satay sauce paste
• 30g candlenuts
• 50g dried baby shrimp
• 20g dried chillies
• 50g long red chillies
• 60g shrimp paste (toasted)
• 200g shallots
• 100g garlic
• 30g fennel powder
• 30g coriander powder
• 50g lemongrass
• 30g ginger
• Satay sauce
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups water
• 600g palm sugar, shaved
• 100g tamarind paste
• 500ml coconut milk
• 600g skinless roasted peanuts, blitzed to breadcrumb size
• 100ml sweet soy

Method

• For the satay marinade, blend all ingredients together until a smooth paste is formed.
• Marinate the pieces of chicken for a minimum of 12 hours.
• Skewer the chicken and cook over charcoal or a barbecue for 5-10 minutes, basting with honey and water.
• For the satay sauce paste, blend the ingredients together to form a smooth paste.
• For the satay sauce, fry the paste in the oil for 3-5 minutes. Add the water and palm sugar and stir until dissolved.
• Add the tamarind paste and coconut milk. Stir to combine. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the peanuts and allow the sauce to thicken to a thick gravy. Add the soy and adjust salt levels if the sauce is too sweet.
• Serve with compressed rice, cucumber and onions.