SATAY

On the 16th of November, I've went to a quite well renowned Indian-Malay restaurant, typically known by Malaysians as "Mamak". This restaurant is called Sri Anggerik and is located in USJ 2 as shown in the picture below.

Restoran Sri Anggerik 

This restaurant serves typical Indian-Malay food but whats so special about this mamak is that there are small stalls selling various local delicacy in which it includes Satay! So without any hesitation, I went to the satay stall and ordered 5 chicken Satays and 5 beef Satays and asked the stall owner whether I can interview them for a short while after my meal. Being a small humble satay shop owner, he seem quite surprised at the same time pleasant to accept the interview.

5 beef and 5 chicken satays

Total bill for Satays : RM6.50 (Beef: RM0.70 x 5, Chicken RM0.60 x 5)

After having my dinner and have the table cleaned up, I asked the owner whether he is ready for the interview. At first he seem quite nervous, so i went up to him and told him the situation whereby I am just a student from Taylor's University and would like to know how to make satay for my project. Eventually, he sent his wife to talk to me, probably because he was too busy with the satays.

The woman did not want to disclose her name so she told me to refer them as "Ana Satay". After a few minutes of small talk and chit-chatting I could gather the list of ingredients needed to prepare and make satay and its special peanut sauce. Even though some of the information were not clear, but i would still like to give a big thanks to Ana Satay for sharing whatever they can.

Below is the list of ingredients that Ana Satay uses to make their chicken satay:

Ingredients to make Satay by Ana Satay

From the conversation, I am also able to make a step-by-step procedure of how Ana Satay prepare and sell their satays. According to Ana Satay, the preparation of satay is done at home, before setting up the stalls. This is also the same for the peanut sauce. The special dipping sauce is made and prepared at home in a big pot before being brought to the stall and sell to the customers.

Preparation of the peanut sauce:

1. Grind the peanuts until it becomes small and powdery.
2. After the peanuts are grounded, add coconut milk and coconut oil to give it a milky and more saucy consistency.
3. Special spices (rempah) are also added to the peanut mixture to give it a hint of spicy taste. 

Preparation of the beef/chicken satay:

1. Cow meat and chicken fillets are gathered and cut into small strips.
2. The meats are marinated in a spice paste which consists of sugar and curry powder. 
3. After marinating the meat strips are skewered (known as satay after being skewered)
4. Satays will be barbecued to perfection before being served to customers
5. Side dish of fresh cucumbers and onions are sliced and served with the satay.

Steps 1-3 are done at home before being brought to the satay stall located opposite Sri Anggerik.

Steps 4 and 5 are carried out at the stall itself when the business is on going. 

Humble satay stall: Ana Satay

Satay stall owner doing his thing, with the help of his son.

According to Rasa Malaysia, the following is how to make Satay.

  

Recipe available from: http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-chicken-satay/2/

How to make peanut sauce (http://rasamalaysia.com/malaysian-sataynow-with-peanut-sauce/2/)

In general, there are little differences between the ingredients & methods to prepare and make Satays as portrayed by Ana Satay and the ingredients & methods to prepare and make Satays by the online recipe, Rasa Malaysia. This could be attributed to the lack of cultural and regional difference, since both of the recipes are developed by Malaysians and after all it is a simple Malaysian delicacy.

The only difference that appeals between this two recipe is the precision and details. Take for example, the ingredients needed to prepare the special peanut sauce are peanuts, coconut milk, coconut oil and "special spices" as mentioned by Ana Satay. On the other hand, Rasa Malaysia lists out every single ingredient needed precised up to the amount needed such as 1 cup or a tablespoon. I do not blame Ana Satay for not sharing more information about their recipe, after all, its the secret to their success. Besides that, after years of expertise they probably do not measure so precisely because making satays have become their second nature.

In conclusion, Satay is a very simple dish to prepare. It can be prepared at anytime and at anywhere as long as the few basic ingredients are obtainable. What makes a special is the special ingredients added to the marination or the peanut dipping sauce. Nevertheless, we should appreciate the value of Satay because it is a national food heritage worth keeping.