Growing up in Holland I’m used to the Indonesian influences we have in our cuisine, stemming from colonial times and all Indonesian people that immigrated to Holland because of that. With its freshness, spices and the way of it being served to be shared, it is one of my favorite cuisines!

Below you’ll find the recipe for a classic that you’ll find a lot in Holland, and is very popular as takeout.  The satay sauce keeps very well in the fridge, for at least 2 weeks and up to 3 months. I always bring it to barbecues and never ceases to be a hit!

Indonesian rice table with Chicken and Tempeh Satay

SERVES 4

Ingredients

Chicken and tempeh sate
3 chicken breasts, in big cubes
400 gr tempeh, in big cubes
1 cup sweet dark soy sauce (kecap manis)
½ cup rice vinegar
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves

Sate sauce
250 gr crunchy peanut butter
2 garlic cloves
2 fresh red chili peppers
100 gr palm sugar
3 tbsp. fish sauce
4 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbsp. tamarind paste
Juice of 4 limes (or more to taste)

Extra
2 cups cooked white rice
2 cucumbers, thinly sliced lengthwise
3 limes
2 tbsp. honey
Chopped cilantro and red pepper
Fried onions

Steam the tempeh for 10 minutes and leave to slightly cool. Pierce 3 pieces of chicken on a skewer, repeat with the rest of the chicken. Do the same with the tempeh. Add the rest of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Place half the marinade in one zip-lock bag and the other half in another. Add the chicken and tempeh to each bag. Marinate for at least half an hour, but better overnight.

Grill the skewers until they have grill stripes on all sides and are cooked through on the inside. If you have a food processor, add all the ingredients, no need to chop the chilies and garlic. Blitz to a paste, and add more lime if you think it needs it!

In case you don’t have a food processor, finely chop the chilies and the garlic and then mix everything together, works just as well! If you like your sauce thinner, add two or three tablespoons of warm water.

Mix the cucumbers with the juice of 2 of the limes and the honey. Leave to marinate.

Serve the satay with the sauce, rice, extra limes, cilantro, pepper and fried onions.

Let me know if you give the recipe a go!

Shot for Food&Travel Arabia. Photography and prop styling by Margaret Stepien, recipes and food styling by me.