Melissa Clark's Satay Marinade - Styles in the Kitchen

For those of you that don’t know of Melissa Clark she writes a weekly column for New York Times Food and has written loads of cookbooks. This particular recipe is from her fantastic book “Dinner Changing the Game”. In the recipe Melissa calls for duck as the protein but here I have used chicken thighs. I’m sure it would be great with pork or even beef and do try the duck its fantastic. The list of ingredients may seen daunting but the flavour achieved by the marinade makes it well worth any effort involved. Allow at least two hours for the marinating time and serves 6. Please note that as it is an American recipe it uses 15ml tablespoons not the 20ml as we use in Australia.

Ingredients

1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed, outer layers removed, inner core finely sliced
3 Tbsp (45ml) unsweetened coconut milk
2 tbsp (30ml) neutral oil
2 tbsp (30ml) Asian fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp (22ml) soy sauce
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
Juice of 1 lime (finely grated zest as well if you like)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
1 green chilli, seeded and chopped
1 kg chicken thigh fillets, sliced

Suggestions for serving

Steamed rice
Lime wedges
Peanut satay sauce
Cucumber
Coriander or basil leaves

Method

Add the lemongrass, coconut milk, oil, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, coriander, turmeric, lime juice (zest if using), garlic, spring onions and chilli to a blender. Puree until smooth.

Transfer the puree to a large bowl, add the chicken, and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours or as long as overnight.

Thread the chicken onto metal or wooden skewers (if using wooden soak in water for at least 30 minutes before), I use disposable gloves to do this. Drizzle with some oil and heat your BBQ, grill pan or frypan.

Cook the skewers until the chicken is cooked through about 5 minutes a side. If you aren’t sure if the chicken is cooked cut a little slit in the middle and check.

Serve the skewers sprinkled with lime juice, chopped spring onion and coriander. The addition of rice, cucumbers and satay sauce for a yummy dinner or simply as is with a dipping sauce. This is the brand of satay sauce I prefer. I have tried many recipes to make my own but none compare to this. If you have a great recipe for satay sauce let me know. Enjoy. Sheryl x