Malaysia's most famous satay style, named after the town of Kajang in Selangor: larger, well-marinated chunks of chicken or beef with a peanut sauce served alongside a spoonful of fried chili paste you stir in to taste. Eaten with ketupat, cucumber and raw onion, it turned Kajang into a satay pilgrimage town.
Also known as: sate kajang, satay kajang, Kajang satay, Malaysian satay kajang, sate haji samuri
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 800 g chicken thigh, in generous 3 cm chunks
- 4 lemongrass stalks, soft cores only
- 6 shallots and 4 garlic cloves
- 3 cm galangal and 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1.5 tbsp ground coriander
- 40 g gula melaka
- 1 tsp salt and 45 ml oil
- 200 g ground roasted peanuts, 300 ml water, 2 tbsp tamarind and sugar (gravy)
- Chili sambal (softened dried chilies and shallots, blended), served separately
- Nasi impit and cucumber
How to make it
- 1
Blitz lemongrass, shallots, garlic, galangal, turmeric, coriander, gula melaka, salt and oil, and marinate the chicken overnight; the deep cure is the Kajang signature.
- 2
Simmer the peanut gravy ingredients 15 minutes until thick, sweet and rough-textured.
- 3
Thread the big chunks, two or three per stick.
- 4
Grill over high charcoal, fanning constantly, 10-12 minutes for the larger cut, basting with oil as you turn.
- 5
Serve with the peanut gravy in one bowl and the chili sambal in another, plus nasi impit and cucumber.
Pro tip: In Kajang the sambal arrives separate from the peanut gravy so every eater stirs in their own heat. Keep the two apart at the table; premixing flattens the ritual and locks everyone into one chili level.
