Recipe for chicken satay (Satè Ayam) – from 'La cucina delle spezie' by David Sheen, with the kind permission of Panozzo Editore, Rimini tried and tested, and translated by Franita in the kitchen, for ThreeMonkeysOnline.

This dish is fairly popular all over the Far East, but its real home is Singapore, capital city of 'nonya' cuisine, where the Chinese gastronomic world joins the ancient history of the Malaysian spices.

What you need for the chicken:
1kg. chicken breast
4 shallots
2 fresh red chilli peppers
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon wild fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon
½ teaspoon grated lemon skin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon peanuts seeds

What you need for the sauce:
250 gr. peanuts (rinse them if salted)
3 shallots
2 garlic gloves
2 fresh red chilli peppers
1 chunk (2 cm.) of ginger
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon peanuts seeds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons palm or cane sugar

How you do it:

Dice the chicken breasts. Finely chop shallots, chillies, ginger and garlic; toast and ground the peanuts and the spices, and put everything in a food processor, together with the grated lemon skin, lemon juice, soy sauce and a bit of oil. When the mix is a blended, pour it on the chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours.

In the meantime, prepare the peanut sauce: coarsely pound or ground the nuts, chop the garlic, shallots, and chillies, and shallow fry them. Toast and ground the spices and shallow fry them for a minute, then add the soy sauce and the lemon juice, then the peanuts and finally the sugar, stirring continuously to obtain a creamy sauce. Take the pan off the heat and when it cools, add the fried ingredients to the cream.At this point the sauce can be kept in the fridge, and it is advisable to leave it like it is and to add coconut milk whenever it's needed.

Back to the chicken, once it has marinated, thread the chicken pieces on pre-soaked bamboo skewers, pour on top the marinade left in the bowl and grill for about 8-10 minutes.Serve the skewers with thick lemon slices and cucumber, and the peanut sauce.