Monday 16 May 2011

Satay & Sangria

...is a weird combination, I know! But with the grilling season fast approaching I couldn't help but give this a go over the weekend. Sangria is my all time favourite drink and with a never ending supply of wine at home, I kinda whip up this cocktail ever so often.

I always went for the traditional sangria using red wine whenever I made it at home, but this time I thought of trying out the white sangria or the Sangria Blanca using white wine. The fruits used can be anything, but because of previous not-so-pleasing outcomes, I decided to go all citrussy. I have used apples, peaches, nectarines, blue berries etc. before, but the problem is, after they stay in the liquid for a while, it kinda ferments and the taste sucks. So what I'd suggest is..make them a wee bit before you want to serve, so it can chill for a while in the refrigerator and try and finish it all at one go (oh yes we were super drunk by the end of the meal), so you don't have to drink fermented and slightly horrid tasting sangria later on. And since you'd put so much effort (and alcohol) into it, you don't want to pour it down the drain as well. It works best if you are serving this at a brunch or BBQ party, cos then you have made just enough for everyone to have a glass or two max.
Satay on the other hand is making its way through to my kitchen for the first time. Although I've had them plenty of times at Malaysian and Indonesian restaurants, I have never tried them at home thinking its quite a tedious task. It was at the back of my mind to try it out some time, but wasn't breaking my head over it.

That's when one of Ro's cousins, a brilliant cook from what I hear, passed on a satay recipe which he said he'd perfected while he was in Louisiana for 2 months on work. He had an outdoor grill at his hotel and after playing around with the recipe he finally settled on this one. Good for me I should say, cos I didn't have to waste my time googling for recipes...which incidentally takes more time for me, than making any dish. He was so clear with his recipe that I didn't even harass him with doubts. He even gave substitutes which was great because I would have wasted significant amount of time researching. He's tried to be as close to the authentic as possible and I have tried to stay as close to the recipe as possible.

Ajoy's Satay recipe
Chicken boneless breasts- 2 pounds or approx 900gms to 1 kg
Wooden/ metal skewers- about 10 to 12, soaked in water for at least an hour

Marinade:
Shallots- 1/3 cup finely minced (I kinda chopped it finely)
Minced lemon grass- 1/3 cup (I bought lemon grass paste from the store)
Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp or 1 to 2 inch ginger piece minced
Garlic- 1/2 tbsp or about 3 cloves, minced
Cumin powder- 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Oyster sauce- 1 1/2 tbsp
Soy sauce- 1 1/2 tbsp
Fish sauce- 1 tbsp
Molasses- 2 1/2 tbsp (I used brown sugar)
Rice vinegar- 2 1/2 tbsp (use tamarind paste mixed with water as substitute)
Cooking oil- 2 tbsp (use peanut oil for a more authentic taste)
Sambal chilli paste- as per taste (I used 1 tsp of red chilli powder). Substitute with paprika or chilli flakes
Wine or sherry- 1 1/2 tbsp (optional)
Salt- add only if needed
Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise, about 1 inch wide. My chicken breasts were really thick, so I placed them on a cling film, wrapped it up and pounded with a mallet to thin it out a bit.
Mix/ blend together all the ingredients under the 'marinade' section.
Mix the meat with the marinade making sure they are all evenly coated. Marinate overnight for best results or at least for 2 to 3 hours.
Thread each marinated strip on to the skewer, leaving about 2 to 3 inches at the top and bottom of the skewer free. I gave the job to Ro to thread the meat so he managed to do about two strips on to one skewer.
Pre-heat the grill for about 10 minutes and line a roasting pan, that can hold the skewer vertically, with a silver foil.
Place the chicken skewers vertically on the roasting pan, so that the skewer edges rest on the pan edges and the juices from the chicken get collected in the pan. You can also just place it on a normal baking pan, but this way its easier to turn them over without a mess.
Cook each side for 4 to 5 minutes, basting them in between if you have left over marinade.
Serve with some peanut sauce (recipe follows).

Dipping sauce:
Chunky peanut butter- 3 tbsp
Thick coconut cream/ milk- 1/2 cup or as required (blend in equal parts with peanut butter to get thick gravy-like consistency
Honey- 1 to 2 tbsp, depending on how sweet you want it to be
Thai green chilli- 1, chopped fine or to taste
Shallots- 2 tbsp, minced
Garlic- 2 tbsp, minced
Salt- to taste

Blend together all the ingredients together and serve with satay and wedges of lime.
Notes: You can use thin cut boneless pork cut against the grain at 1 inch width or even beef skirt steak cut against the grain at the same width. Both need to be pounded to about 1/4 inch thickness.
This is best cooked on a BBQ grill, but I did it in my oven in the grill mode and it turned out fine. I'm thinking an electric grill like a George Foreman would also do the trick. Ajoy also says it can be broiled.
I didn't make the peanut sauce, but since I had the recipe I thought I should post it.

Sangria Blanca (serves about 10 to 12 glasses, adapted from here)
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Orange juice- 1 cup
Vodka- 1/2 cup
Brandy- 1/2 cup
Dry white wine- 1 bottle (750ml) I used a Chardonnay 
Lemonade- 350 ml
Lime- 1 half, thinly sliced
Orange- 1half, thinly sliced
Lemon- 1 half, thinly sliced

In a glass pitcher stir together the sugar, orange juice, vodka and brandy till the sugar has dissolved.
Add the white wine and throw in sliced lime, lemon and orange.
Just before serving top with the lemonade and serve cold. Add ice cubes if required.
Notes: You can do a non alcoholic version of this using white grape juice. 
Like I mentioned before, you can throw in apples, peaches, apricots, blue berries, strawberries etc.


Sending the Sangria Blanca to Radhika's Fun n Sun event over at Tickling Palates.

46 comments:

Mélange said...

Your clicks make me drool..Satays I really love.The combo I think it will sometimes work even if you think it's strange..Lovely !

Priya Suresh said...

Just drooling over that satay, simply irresistible..I dont drink sangria coz of the alcohol, my H will definitely love this..

Unknown said...

Totally new to me, looks very tempting and lovely clicks as well

Radhika said...

Oh My... I would love to gulp down the whole jug with the weather here. Thanks for sending them to the event.

Nithya said...

Fantastic clicks. love the way you present food :)

aipi said...

Wow awesome meal in a beautiful table setting ~ loved the bright sunny pics :)
US Masala

divya said...

Wow tempting and delicious,looks so inviting.

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Nice presentation and clicks of lovely recipe.....

Sarah Naveen said...

I wish we were neighbors Gal!!! i love Sangria...look at the color..A total Wow!!

Vimitha Durai said...

Superb clicks dear... Loved the kebab. And the drink looks wow...

Suman Singh said...

Wow..everything looks so pretty and incredibly delicious..loved the clicks..superb!

Sarah Naveen said...

Gal..do you know your recipe is featured here
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/slinks/rainbow-doodle-birthday-cake-birthday-soup-delicious-links-for-05162011-145892

the Junkie book said...

good tht you managed these awesome shots before getting sloshed out!!

the satay recipe is a ripper! thank you Ajoy...the rice vinegar substitute is a good find for me..

thanx Nisha for posting this classic combination...ahem classic weird combination ;P

Hayley said...

aWESOME...love the pics !

JishasKitchen said...

OMG.....never thought that we can make sangria so easily at home....looks so colorful and very very delicious!!!...and about satay, I haven't got a chance to try that till now..but your clicks are so tempting that I am gonna make it as soon as possible...:)..bookmarked it..

Unknown said...

Now that looks like a summer post sparkling! i like idea of drinking it completely and getting high! more than satay i eat/lick more of satay sauce i love it :)

Sobha Shyam said...

Very colourful and excellent sangria..Satay is very tempting..Fabulous clicks..

Suja Manoj said...

Wow drool drool..lovely presentation.

Swathi said...

Both Satay and sangria looks dleicious.

Binys Recipes said...

wow both the recipes are fab....pics are drool worthy

Satrupa said...

Oh Boy ..... looks like the party has just started. Lovely clicks.

Cheers,
Satrupa

http://satrupa-foodforthought.blogspot.com

Miriam Korula said...

i love satays.. will have to give this recipe a try....love the beautiful clicks of the sangria...btwn...i did check out the kitchn page...kudos to u nish...;)

Nitha said...

Delicious Satay n Sangria.. Would love to try the Satay once..

Anonymous said...

Yellow really rocks, I can drink down that whole jug of sangria w/o a burp ! And satay..YUM!

Lifewithspices said...

I hv tried sangria its awesome.. love ur pics..

Nandinis food said...

I must admit that I almost drooled on the keyboard seeing the satay and sangria...The combo is very lovely. I'll try out the satay some day.

Sushma Mallya said...

Beautifully clicked Nisha , loved the satay recipe and going to try it soon:)

Rinku Naveen said...

Wow interesting combo..Lovely clicks.
First time to your space. You have a beautiful blog!!
Happy to follow u..
Do stop by mine whenever possible. thanks

Plateful said...

Uh-oh, your 'weird' combo (your words not mine..haha) looks way too tempting!! Wondering if there's any non-alcoholic version for the sangira...alcohol is an absolute no in our family and the drink looks too good to miss out! The satay I'll try once I'm out of the lazy mode :)

Ah, your love for yellow is rubbing off on me...! :)

Plateful said...

I'm so glad- I kinda missed the notes succeeding your beautiful shots :)

Anonymous said...

These sangria glasses are very tempting... perfect to chill out on a summer day :-)

Hamaree Rasoi said...

the bright, sunny clicks are eye catching....and no i do not find this weired combi. I loved satays during our Malaysia trip.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Joyti said...

Actually, it sounds like a really fantastic combination. Very nice for warm weather, and both sangria and satay are so bright and beautiful!

Asha said...

Satay is our favorite appetizer.... n cool pics...

Unknown said...

Stunning clicks Nisha..Will try them both sometime..

Julie said...

wow..excellent combo..first time to your blog..
visit mine too
http://juls-tryntaste.blogspot.com/

Asha said...

There is an Award Galore waiting for you in my blog... Please accept it following this link http://atastychallenge.blogspot.com/2011/05/awards-and-thank-you-note.html

lubnakarim06 said...

You mastered clicking juices....love the snaps...they are awesome...love that bright color.....

Unknown said...

Blimey, it's only 11am and I could drink that right now! Love satay too, not made my own yet!

Jyothi said...

you photographs make me want to reach into the computer screen and grab and giant jug of sangria right away!

And thanks for the peanut dipping sauce! I've tried a couple of different recipes for the sauce till now, but none of them have made a mark... But this one seems simple and delicious. WIll definitely give this a try!

Kankana said...

That is one heavenly treat dear :) Loving everything about it and the color of both the drink and the meal is gorgeous. I can't wait to try !!
www.sunshineandsmile.com

Sarah said...

im in love with Satay and Sangria! Ive got to make them ! Ur pics are superb!!!

pigpigscorner said...

Not weird at all! Grilled stuff goes really well with refreshing sangria! Beautiful clicks!

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Awesome Chicken Satay and a lovely drink recipe!

maria . K said...

hi what is the substitute for lemonade coz in India you dont
really get lemonade- thnks

My Kitchen Antics said...

Hi Maria.. you can use sprite or 7up. You can also just use soda water and up the lime juice quantity and sugar.