Young goat skewers, typically served not with peanut sauce but with a sharper dressing of sweet soy, raw shallots, chili and tomato (sambal kecap). Prized in Java, where the meat is often grilled unmarinated so the goat flavor stays front and center.
Also known as: sate kambing, satay kambing, goat satay, Indonesian goat satay, sate kambing muda
Ingredients
- 700 g young goat leg, in 2 cm cubes, some fat left on
- 6 tbsp kecap manis, divided
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp oil
- 4 shallots, finely sliced
- 3 bird's-eye chilies, sliced
- 1 tomato, diced
- juice of 1 lime
- lontong or steamed rice, to serve
How to make it
- 1
Toss the goat with 2 tablespoons of kecap manis, the coriander and the oil — Tegal-style sate kambing skips long marinades to keep the goat flavour forward.
- 2
Thread onto bamboo skewers, slipping in an occasional cube of fat.
- 3
Grill over medium coals, fanning rather than flaring, 8-10 minutes; brush with another spoon of kecap manis in the final 2 minutes.
- 4
Stir the shallots, chilies, tomato and lime into the remaining kecap manis and serve this sambal kecap as a pool for dipping.
Pro tip: Everything rests on kambing muda — the youngest goat you can find; older goat needs a different recipe, not a longer marinade.
The story of Sate Kambing
Sate kambing is young goat satay, and it is the version that most often breaks the rules of its own family: it is typically served not with peanut sauce but with sambal kecap — a sharp dressing of sweet soy, raw shallots, chilli and tomato — and it is frequently grilled unmarinated so the goat flavour stays front and centre.
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.
The technique that defines it
Grilling unmarinated 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.
Choosing your ingredients
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.
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 clear goat broth (gulai or tongseng) is often served alongside in Java.
Mistakes that ruin it
Serving it with peanut sauce
Sate kambing traditionally takes sambal kecap. Peanut sauce buries the goat flavour the dish is built to show.
Older goat
Kambing muda — young goat — is the requirement. Older animals are assertive in a way this preparation does not disguise.
Long fruit-enzyme tenderising
Pineapple and papaya work fast and do not stop. Thirty minutes is often enough; hours turns the meat to mush.
No fat between the pieces
With no marinade, threaded fat is the only thing keeping lean goat moist.
How it is served
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.
Questions about Sate Kambing
Why is it not served with peanut sauce?
Sate kambing is built to show the goat flavour, and sambal kecap — sweet soy with raw shallot, chilli and tomato — is sharp rather than covering. Peanut sauce buries it.
Is it marinated?
Often not at all. Some warungs use a short rub of grated pineapple or papaya to tenderise, but no more than about thirty minutes.
What is kambing muda?
Young goat. Its mildness and tenderness are why it is specified, and warungs frequently advertise it.
What is sambal kecap?
An uncooked dressing of kecap manis, raw sliced shallot, bird's-eye chilli and tomato, assembled fresh and spooned over the skewers.
