Pork satay (sate babi)

When barbecue season hits, you'll want to have these juicy skewers in your repertoire. Minced pork is blended with a fragrant marinade, then shaped and grilled and served with a peanut-coconut milk sauce.

Pork satay (Sate Babi) Credit: Asia Unplated with Diana Chan

• serves

  4

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 750 g boneless and skinless pork belly, roughly chopped (keep the fat on)
• coriander and mint sprigs, to serve

Marinade

• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 red Asian shallot
• 1 garlic clove

Pickle

• 100 g caster sugar
• 100 ml rice vinegar
• 4 baby Tokyo turnips, cut into wedges, stem and leaves still attached

Glaze

• 2 tbsp kecap manis
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp grated palm sugar
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp lime zest

Peanut sauce

• drizzle of vegetable oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) coconut milk

Marinating time: overnight

Instructions

1. Place the pork in a large blender and add all the marinade ingredients. Blitz for a few minutes or until the pork has minced and the ingredients have combined. Don't be tempted to overmix this though- you still want a bit of texture in the pork. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. For the pickle, place the sugar, vinegar and 200 ml water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the turnips, remove from the heat and stand for at least 1 hour to lightly pickle.

3. For the glaze, place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until reduced by half.

4. For the peanut sauce, heat the oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the cumin and turmeric and stir for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the peanut butter and coconut milk and stir until well combined and stir and slightly thickened.

5. Preheat a charcoal barbecue. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the pork mixture into the palm of your hand and roll it into a cylinder shape, then press onto a long metal skewer. Keep the meat fairly long and thin on the skewer- this will help to speed up the cooking time.

6. Cook the skewers for 4-5 minutes, turning and brushing with the glaze regularly. Serve with the pickled turnips, herbs and peanut sauce.

Diana Chan and guests explore the flavours of Asia from her Melbourne home in the second series of Asia Unplated.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.