In The Kitchen With Kanta : Satay Chicken

Satay Chicken

Happy New year everyone!! I hope you all had a blessed festive season and are ready to take on 2016.  I for one am extremely excited for 2016 – It’s a new year, a fresh new start, a chance to write a new book and fill up the pages with whatever you want.  I love the fact that when a new year begins, it allows people to set new goals and achieve them; it gives people this new zeal and a reason to not just exist but to live. The New Year is about letting go of the past, being happy and loving, living well and eating well, accomplishing your dreams and reaching higher heights.  Sadly not everyone made it into 2016 and those of us that did owe it to ourselves to live our lives to the fullest.

Going into this year has inspired me to share new recipes with you, from many different cultures, some healthy and others just darn right tasty.  Most of which you will like and others which you may not, but that’s fine because what would the world be like if we all liked the same thing…?… I’ll let you answer that one.

So, i’m starting off this New Year, with a dish that I particularly love.  It always hits the spot for me; the first time I ever tried it was many years ago at a Chinese restaurant, and it is something that I have experimented with and personalised to make it perfect – so today we have delicious Satay Chicken.

Preparation & Cooking time: 2hrs 20 minutes

Serves: 12 

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps peanut butter (preferably smooth)
• 7 tbsps soy sauce
• 7 tbsps lemon or lime juice
• 1 tbsps dark brown soft sugar
• 2 tbsps curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
• Fresh Thyme, chopped (optional)
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco (optional)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 pieces chicken, diced (mixture of thighs and drumsticks)

Method

In a mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, curry powder, salt garlic and hot sauce. Mix the chicken in the marinade and refrigerate it. Let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the vegetable oil in a frying pan or wok.  Fry your onions and red peppers for about 1 minute.  Add the chicken pieces and any extra marinade and cook for 10-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Stir in your freshly chopped thyme; adding extra water if the sauce reduces too much and becomes too thick.

Alternatively you can thread the chicken onto skewers to make kebabs, grill them or bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Serving
Serve your deliciously sticky Satay chicken with freshly cooked rice.  Or you can enjoy your Satay chicken kebabs as a light snack with a beverage of your choice.

Kanta Temba is a cake maker and decorator. She is also the owner and founder of Kanta Kakes – cake shop.

You can find her work on www.kantakakes.com.  Follow her on twitter @KantaKakes and Instagram @KantaTemba.