Indonesian Chicken Satay: Sate Ayam

There are many kinds of satays or kebabs from various countries, and with different names for the food product, but they are all based upon meat, fish, vegetables or fruits on skewers that are cooked, often by grilling or broiling. "Shish kebabs" and Peruvian "anticuchos"* are examples.

 

"Kecap manis" is a sweet and thick soy sauce, unlike most other types of soy sauce, and it is available in many supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. From my experience, it comes in taller bottles than regular soy sauce. You can use boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, and while bamboo skewers are traditional, any wooden skewers are fine; just be sure to soak them in water for 20 to 30 minutes before using. Of course, you can use metal skewers too. 

Ingredients (for 15 skewers):

15 wooden skewers (soaked in water for 20 to 30 minutes, traditionally bamboo, but I'm sure Indonesians won't put you onto a skewer and then throw you into Mt. Krakatoa, although you will undoubtedly cook well, YEEEOOOWWW!)

1 to 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into about 1 inch cubes

2/3 cup sweet soy sauce (traditionally 'kecap manis,' or substitute slightly less than 2/3 cup regular soy sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons molasses or maple syrup, but ... see the note in 'skewers' above about the potential 'penalty')

(optional) 1 teaspoon fresh chopped chili pepper or 1 teaspoon sambal oelek** 

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sesame oil for the sauce + a little more for basting the chicken when cooking

1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix together the kecap manis (or soy sauce/molasses/syrup), chili pepper (if using), ground coriander, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper and tablespoon of sesame oil. Toss the chicken cubes in the sauce mixture, cover the dish and refrigerate to marinate the chicken for a minimum of 1 hour, but 8 to 12 hours is better. You can grill or broil the chicken. Be sure to soak the skewers in water for 20 to 30 minutes before putting the chicken onto them. Let excess marinade drain into the bowl you used for marinating the chicken pieces and keep it (see further below). Put like 4 to 6 pieces of the chicken on each skewer, and allow a little space between the pieces. Grill or broil the chicken, turning the skewers often, and use a brush to baste the chicken pieces with a little sesame oil as it cooks. Cook the chicken until the pieces are getting a little charred appearance (I said "a little charred appearance," not burnt or ashes ... hahaha), likely 6 to 10 minutes. Pour the marinade liquid into a pan, then stir in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Serve the sauce in a separate dish for dipping the chicken and serve the chicken along with some rice.

 

* For Peruvian Anticuchos, here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/09/peruvian-kebabs-anticuchos.html

 

** Sambal Oelek is a chunky hot chili pepper sauce. It should be easily found in the Asian section, or in the hot sauce section, of supermarkets. It is pretty common is the U.S.and it is not expensive, although the price may vary by brand. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cockatoo-This word for some of the prominently crested birds of the parrot family has an uncertain origin, although it may simply be a name derived from the imitation of the sounds made by such birds, as these birds are chatty. It goes back to Malay^ "kakatua," which was borrowed by Dutch as "kaketoe" (the Dutch were very involved in southern Asia from the 1500s until 1945. Indonesia was long a Dutch colony called "(the) Dutch East Indies" until 1945. Dutch "kaketoe" was borrowed by English in the 1630s (some sources say about 15 years earlier) as "cockatoo." Note: While the name may be from the sound of the birds, Malay "kakatua" pretty much literally translates to "older sister." If true, why the use of the term is difficult to understand, but far stranger words have developed among humans. Of course too, it could indeed be from the imitation of the bird sounds and the word adjusted to conform to the "older sister" term's phonetic spelling.

^  "Malay" is from the overall Austronesian family of languages of southeast Asia and many Pacific islands, where "Malay" is part of the subfamily "Malayo-Polynesian." 

Polynesian Chicken

When I see or hear the term "Polynesian Chicken," I think of pineapple. I checked something like 25 recipes prior to writing this, and all but ONE had pineapple as one of the ingredients. I believe I'd only had "Polynesian Chicken" once or twice in my life, but it doesn't seem to be a recipe that is very commonly made today. My recollection is that when I was a kid the dish was much more common, perhaps because Hawaii had recently become a state. Hm, Hawaii and pineapple, gee who would have thunk... ah, thought it? Anyway, I was watching an episode of the 1960's comedy, "McHale's Navy," and "Polynesian Chicken" was part of the story. That made me wonder just what I knew about this dish. As I checked various recipes, I found that pineapple and pineapple juice were the ingredients that seemed to make the dish "Polynesian," although some recipes also included pieces of orange, while others used lemon peel, as well orange juice, lemon juice or lime juice. I fixed the "Polynesian Chicken" a couple of ways, as one had more vinegar and soy sauce than the recipe below, but I didn't really care for that version. I really like the version I put together below, and I will likely make it again soon.  

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cubed (I used 1/2 pound white + 1/2 pound dark)
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 cup chopped green onion (with some green)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lime juice

3 tablespoons butter 

2/3 teaspoon ground white pepper (black pepper is fine too)

3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (depending upon desired thickness) mixed with an equal amount of water

2 tablespoons oil (canola or vegetable oil)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the ginger, the green onion and the red bell pepper. When these ingredients begin to soften (they will cook further), add the pineapple juice and let it heat. Add the chicken, the pineapple, the brown sugar, the honey, the vinegar, the soy and the ketchup; stir to mix well. Cook until the chicken is tender. Add the white pepper and the lime juice, stir to mix. Gradually add the cornstarch and water mixture, stirring constantly, and maintaining the heat level until the desired thickness is reached. Add the butter and stir until the butter is melted and mixed in. Serve with rice.

WORD HISTORY:
Ukulele-The more distant history of this word for a small guitar type of instrument is tough to track down with any certainty, but the first part of word is related to "cootie," a general slang English word for "louse." The word "cootie" was borrowed in southeastern Asia from Malay "kutu" during British involvement there,^ and during the trench warfare of World War One, and the resulting lice infestations, the word became popularized as a slang term in English. "Kutu" meant "small insect, flea." "Lele" meant "jump, leap," so the compound literally meant, "jumping flea or insect," perhaps from the notion of the fingers "jumping" from string to string? The ukulele seems to have been a Hawaiian version of a similar instrument, the machete, they'd seen and experienced from the Portuguese who brought it to Hawaii in the mid 1800s. English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1800s. When I was a kid, ukuleles were very popular, helped along by Arthur Godfrey, an American television personality, who played the ukulele on his show. In the 1960s, along came musician Tiny Tim, and he too became famous for his ukulele play, especially his signature song, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."       

^ "Malay" is from the overall Austronesian family of languages of southeast Asia and many Pacific islands, where "Malay" is part of the subfamily "Malayo-Polynesian." 

Yogurt Drinks of the Indian Subcontinent, Part 4 of 4

Here are two more sweet lassis, including the very popular "mango lassi." 

Mango Lassi-This is a very popular sweet lassi, also called a "smoothie" in restaurants or specialty beverage shops in the U.S. There are also commercially bottled versions of mango lassi. How many brands are there? I have no idea, as I "tend" to prefer freshly made foods, but I did buy a bottled mango lassi recently at a South Asian shop. I guess it was maybe ten ounces, but it was far too sweet for me.

Ingredients for 4 servings or 2 large servings:

1 cup plain thick yogurt
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon or more honey (see below)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup mango (fresh chopped or canned)
ice cubes

If you want to use fresh mangoes, you need well ripened mangoes. In this case too, you will likely want to add more honey, probably at least 1 tablespoon, but that's a matter of personal taste. Lately, I must admit that I've cheated... I mean, I've chosen a streamlined way; that is, canned mangoes, which usually come in a sweet syrup. If you use canned mangoes, you can reduce the amount of honey, but instead, use a little of the syrup, according to how sweet you want the lassi. You can add a little sprinkle of ground cardamom on top. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend for about 30 to 45 seconds, or until smooth.

Turmeric Lassi

Ingredients per large serving:

2/3 cup plain thick yogurt
1 banana (chilled, lightly frozen)
2/3 cup cold water
3 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
2 tablespoons honey
couple of ice cubes

The banana should be peeled and put into the freezer for about 10-12 minutes. Put all ingredients, including ice cubes, into a blender and blend for about 45 to 60 seconds, or until the banana and ice cubes are broken up and mixed in. You can sprinkle a little turmeric on top, as I've done in the photo.

WORD HISTORY: 
Mango-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain, although it goes back to Tamil, a Dravidian language of southern Asia, especially from parts of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore. The transliterated Tamil form, "mankay" (like, "main-kay"), meaning, "fruit of the mango tree."This was borrowed into Malay, a language of the Austronesian language family (which includes Tagalog/Filipino, one of the major languages of the Philippines), as "mangga," meaning, "mango." This was then borrowed by Portuguese^ as "manga," and English borrowed the word from Portuguese in the late 1500s, although its use became more common somewhat later, as the English planted mango trees in some of their tropical possessions in the New World.

^ The Portuguese were great explorers long ago, a fact sometimes forgotten, and they controlled East Timor, then called "Portuguese Timor," from the 1500s until 1975. It then became part of Indonesia, before gaining independence in 2002.