I wanted this recipe to be a cross between Malaysian and Indonesian satay. I actually prefer Indonesian satay – with cumin, galangal and coriander, it has a strong dry-spice flavour. I’d also wanted to try a satay medium rare, so we got good-quality fresh beef with lots of fat that would crisp and crackle on the grill. It worked.
Wagyu Satay
Serves 5
• 1kg wagyu striploin
• 20 bamboo skewers, soaked
• satay sauce, to serve
MARINADE
• 1 red onion, roughly chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, roughly chopped
• 200ml vegetable oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 6 tbsp dark soy blend
• fried shallots to serve
Trim any fat from the striploin and then slice into pieces measuring 3x1 cm.
For the marinade, blend the onion and lemongrass in a food processor, then combine with the rest of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the beef strips and mix well, then refrigerate for 4 hours.
Thread about 8 strips of beef onto each bamboo skewer, packing the meat tightly; each skewer should weigh around 50g. Cook the skewers over charcoal or on a barbecue on high heat for 4 minutes, so 2 minutes on each side. Arrange the satay skewers on a platter and serve with satay sauce and fried shallots.
Satay Sauce
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 200g peanuts without skin
• 1 large red onion, roughly chopped
• 25 garlic cloves, peeled
• 300ml vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp chilli paste
• 150g smooth peanut butter
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp MSG
• 4 tsp tomato sauce (ketchup)
• 4 tsp tamarind paste
• 200g sugar
• 1 litre water
Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and deep-fry the peanuts until brown and fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to cool, then blend in a food processor until smooth. Remove and set aside. Blitz the onion and garlic into a paste in the food processor, then heat the 300ml vegetable oil in a wok and sauté the paste with the chilli paste until fragrant, about 10-15 minutes.
Mix in the blended peanuts and the peanut butter and sauté on a low heat for another 10 minutes, then add the turmeric, salt, MSG, tomato sauce and tamarind paste and sauté for a further 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stir vigorously as it will caramelise quickly, then turn off the heat when well mixed. Add the water and blitz the mixture with a hand-held blender until it looks like satay sauce. Pour into a saucepan and simmer gently until thick, then set aside.
Dark Soy Blend
Makes 1 litre
• 350ml Cheong Chan caramel sauce (available from Asian supermarkets)
• 300ml Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce
• 350ml oyster sauce
• 150ml fish sauce
• 6 tbsp MSG
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground white pepper
Put all the sauces in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer while stirring well; do not allow to boil. Once it is simmering, add the seasonings and stir well. When everything is well mixed and dissolved, turn off the heat and allow to cool. Funnel into a sauce bottle and store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
Laksa
Serves 4
My dad used to play a lot of golf. He’d wake up early in the morning and be gone for most of the day – it was his exercise and outlet, as well as where he would lock in deals for the family business.
He worked a lot, so sometimes the only time we saw him was at the clubhouse after he’d finished playing, and that’s where I would always get a laksa lemak. Lemak means fat in Malay. It was heavy, dense and rich, more Malay-style than Chinese-style. I loved it.
One day, my dad gave up golf. I only understood later in my life that he did so because he wanted to spend more time with his kids. He loved it, but he gave it up completely for us. That’s why I wanted to make my laksa like the golf club version.
If you use store-bought chicken stock here, choose an unsalted version.
• 5 tbsp vegetable oil
• 5 tbsp curry powder
• 1⁄4 tsp ground chilli
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ½ cup fresh curry leaves
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 150ml water
• 2 litres chicken stock (see below)
• 4 chicken leg quarters
• 1 bunch Vietnamese mint, washed
• 400ml coconut milk
• 200ml coconut cream
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp chicken stock (bouillon) powder
• 200g tofu puffs
• 300g snake beans, cut into 3 cm lengths
• 300g bean sprouts
• 600g fresh hokkien noodles
• 200g dried rice vermicelli
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved lengthways
• fresh mint leaves, fried shallots and chopped spring onions, to garnish
• lime wedges and sambal, to serve
Laksa Paste
• 2 red onions, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 lemongrass stalk, roughly chopped
• 10cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp toasted belacan (see below)
• 3 candlenuts (available at Asian supermarkets)
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp
• 25 whole dried chillies
Chicken Stock
Makes 2.5 litres
Stock is probably one of the simplest ways to add richness to whatever you’re cooking. It’s also super easy and cheap to make. I make mine from all the parts of a chicken that are usually discarded. This recipe is for a clear, diluted stock, to keep it versatile. If you want to pump it up a notch, add more herbal, sweet or umami flavours and cook for a second round.
If you put in any leafy greens, don’t leave them in for more than 10 minutes or the stock will be too bitter. Try experimenting with different ingredients – you can put pretty much anything in a stock.
• 3 litres water
• 2 whole raw chicken carcasses
• 2 star anise
• root ends of 1 bunch spring onions
• 5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
Put everything in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for 4 hours. Skim the top of the broth every hour and discard skimmings. After 4 hours, strain the stock into sealable containers and allow to cool. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Toasted Belacan
Makes 500g
We toast belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste) to dry it out, resulting in a more intense flavour. It also keeps for longer when it’s dry. I like to make this in big batches for two reasons: first, it’s more economical, and second, if you’re going to stink up the kitchen and your clothes, you might as well get a whole tray out of it.
• 1 x 500g packet belacan
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Cut the belacan into 5mm slices, place on a tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool before breaking into smaller, rice-sized pieces. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Pulse the laksa paste ingredients in a food processor until a smooth paste forms.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a high heat. Add the laksa paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, roughly 5 minutes. Add the ground, fresh and whole spices with the water and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring until combined and thickened. Take off the heat and set aside.
In a large saucepan, bring the stock to a boil and poach the chicken leg quarters until cooked through, about 25 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon to an ice bath. Add the sautéed laksa paste, ginger flower and whole bunch of mint to the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan and discard solids. Reheat the liquid over a medium heat and stir in the coconut milk, coconut cream, sugar, salt and stock powder. Reduce heat to low and add in the tofu puffs, then leave to simmer gently.
Drain and debone the poached chicken leg quarters. Slice the meat with a knife or shred using your hands, then set aside.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil then separately and briefly blanch the snake beans and bean sprouts so they are cooked but still crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
In the same saucepan, separately blanch the hokkien noodles and rice vermicelli until soft, then drain and divide between four bowls. (I try to soak my vermicelli in cold water for 20 minutes before blanching and separate the hokkien noodles with my hands before blanching.)
Arrange some shredded chicken, snake beans, bean sprouts and an egg half on top of each bowl of noodles and vermicelli. Ladle the laksa soup over and top with some of the tofu. Scatter with some fresh mint leaves, fried shallots and spring onions, and serve with lime wedges and sambal on the side.
An edited extract from Ho Jiak: A Taste of Malaysia, by Junda Khoo (Hardie Grant Books, RRP NZ$65).
