Sate Kambing

It is prized in Java, and in Jakarta and Yogyakarta there are warungs that sell nothing else. The preference for young goat is specific and the age of the animal is often advertised, because kambing muda is mild and tender where an older animal is assertive in a way that divides opinion.

Yogyakarta pushes the same logic to its end point with sate klathak, the sister dish from Bantul: identical young goat, seasoned with little more than salt and pepper and grilled on iron bicycle spokes so the metal cooks each cube from the inside, with a light curry gravy on the side instead of sweet soy. Different dressing, same creed — let goat taste of goat.

For goat that tastes plainly of goat, Sate Kambing is the pick: kambing muda in small cubes, little or no marinade, and a sharp sambal kecap of sweet soy, raw shallot, chilli and tomato. Sate Klathak, its sister dish from Bantul, uses the same young goat but seasons larger cubes with little more than salt and pepper, grills them on iron spokes and serves a light curry gravy. Sate Madura can be made with goat too, though there the skewers are drenched in fine peanut sauce, which Kambing cooks avoid because it buries the meat. Sate Buntel minces goat or lamb and lets caul fat baste it, whereas Kambing keeps lean cubes moist with pieces of fat threaded between them.

Compare: Sate Klathak · Sate Madura · Sate Buntel

Grilling without a marinade — at most the quick kecap manis toss used in the recipe here — is a deliberate choice and it changes the technique. With no marinade to protect it, goat needs a piece of fat threaded between the lean pieces — the same solution used from Uzbekistan to Iraq — and a moderate rather than fierce fire.

Some warungs tenderise with a rub of grated pineapple or papaya for a short time, which is a legitimate local practice, but the window is short: both fruits contain aggressive protein-digesting enzymes and thirty minutes is often enough. The sambal kecap is made fresh and raw, and its sharpness against unadorned goat is the entire design.

Young goat (kambing muda), from the leg or shoulder, in small cubes, with pieces of goat fat threaded between. Freshness and the age of the animal matter more here than in any other satay. Tegal, the north-coast town whose warungs made this dish famous, even grades it by month: balibul means under five months old, batibul under three — and the sign outside tells you which one you are getting.

For sambal kecap: kecap manis, raw shallots sliced thin, bird's-eye chilli, tomato and sometimes lime. It is assembled rather than cooked. Lontong or rice, and a bowl of goat curry (gulai or tongseng) is often served alongside in Java.

With sambal kecap spooned over, lontong or rice, and often a bowl of tongseng or gulai broth alongside. Sliced cabbage and tomato. It is evening food and the specialist warungs that make it are known by name in Java.