Thai · Thailand
Satay: Marinade, Skewering, and Grilling
Thin strips of chicken, pork, or beef marinated in a paste of turmeric, lemongrass, coriander, cumin, and coconut milk — threaded onto bamboo skewers and grilled over charcoal, served with peanut sauce (nam jim satay) and a fresh cucumber relish (ajaad). Satay in Thailand reflects the Malay and Indonesian culinary influence brought through the southern provinces — it is a preparation that is simultaneously Thai in its spice vocabulary and Malay-Indonesian in its structure. Thompson covers satay in Thai Street Food as one of the most widely eaten preparations of the southern and central Thai street food tradition.
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Five in town · three shipped · four elsewhere in British Columbia · one not yet within reach.
How the 13 are reached
- In town
- 5 · garlic, shallots, cucumber, shallots, rice vinegar
- Shipped to you
- 3 · lemongrass, palm sugar, palm sugar
- Elsewhere in British Columbia
- 4 · coriander seed, coconut milk, coconut milk, coconut milk
- Not yet within reach
- 1 · bamboo skewers
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the marinade
400 g
chicken thigh
skinless, boneless — sliced 3–4 mm thin, strips 3–4 cm wide and 8–10 cm long
Your own market
1 tsp
fresh or dried turmeric
fresh: peeled and finely grated; dried: ground
Your own market
2 stalks
lemongrass
white stalk only, very finely minced or processed
Origin · ThailandShipped to you · Wismettac →
1 tsp
coriander seed
toasted and ground
½ tsp
cumin
toasted and ground
Your own market
3 cloves
2
1 tbsp
60 ml
coconut milk
full-fat
Origin · Sri Lankan coconut (Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka), Sri LankaElsewhere in British Columbia · Jeya Brothers →
1 tbsp
fish sauce
Your own market
For grilling
100 ml
coconut milk
full-fat, for basting during grilling
Origin · Sri Lankan coconut (Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka), Sri LankaElsewhere in British Columbia · Jeya Brothers →
12
bamboo skewers
soaked in water for 30 minutes before use
Not yet within reach of Oliver · each reach is counted
For the cucumber relish (ajaad)
1
2
2
fresh red chillies
thinly sliced
Your own market
60 ml
rice vinegar
sweetened with sugar to a light pickling balance
For the peanut sauce (nam jim satay)
150 g
roasted peanuts
coarsely ground
Your own market
200 ml
coconut milk
full-fat
Origin · Sri Lankan coconut (Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka), Sri LankaElsewhere in British Columbia · Jeya Brothers →
1 tbsp
1 tbsp
fish sauce
Your own market
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Oliver →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Toast the coriander seed and cumin separately in a dry pan over medium heat until each spice smells open and nutty, then grind to a fine powder — toasting separately prevents the lighter cumin from scorching while the coriander catches up. Combine with the turmeric, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, palm sugar, coconut milk, and fish sauce and work to a smooth paste by mortar or processor. The paste is ready when no coarse lemongrass fibre remains and the mass is uniform in colour and texture.
From the canon — Palm sugar — made from the sap of the palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer) or coconut palm — is the primary sweetener of the Thai kitchen and one of the most … Palm Sugar (Nam Tan Pip): Selection and Use →
2
Slice the chicken to strips of 3–4 mm thickness, 3–4 cm wide, and 8–10 cm long, so that each piece will thread flat on a skewer and grill evenly without thick or thin patches. Coat thoroughly in the marinade paste, cover, and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours — overnight is markedly better, as the coconut fat and aromatics need time to penetrate beyond the cut surfaces and perfume the meat all the way through. The meat is ready to skewer when it has taken on a deep yellow colour throughout and feels softened at the surface from the coconut fat.
3
Soak the bamboo skewers in cold water for 30 minutes so that the exposed ends do not char and catch over the coals before the meat is ready. Thread each strip of marinated chicken lengthwise onto a skewer, weaving the strip back and forth so that it lies flat and cannot rotate or slip when you turn it on the grill. Load no more than 3 strips per skewer; the skewered meat should lie in a single flat plane with no loose ends hanging free.
4
Prepare the ajaad: combine the sliced cucumber, shallots, and chilli in a bowl. Warm the rice vinegar with enough sugar to produce a light, bright pickling balance — the gentle heat helps the sugar dissolve fully so the liquid is clear and even rather than grainy — and pour over. Allow to stand while the satay grills; the relish is ready when the shallot has softened slightly but the cucumber retains its crunch.
From the canon — A simple, quickly made relish of thinly sliced cucumber, shallot, and fresh chilli in a sweetened rice vinegar dressing — served as the standard accompanimen… The Ajaad (Cucumber Relish) and Its Role →
5
Combine the ground peanuts with coconut milk, palm sugar, and fish sauce in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously so the dense paste does not catch and scorch on the base of the pan. Cook until the sugar dissolves and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then hold warm — a sauce left to cool and reheat quickly turns grainy and loses its gloss.
From the canon — Fresh coconut milk — extracted from freshly grated coconut flesh rather than purchased in a can — and the technique of 'cracking' it: heating the thick, fat-… Coconut Milk: Cracking, Frying, Reducing →
6
This is where the dish lives or dies. Grill over high charcoal heat with the skewers positioned 5–8 cm from the coals; at 2 minutes, check the first side — the surface must show a deep amber-gold from the turmeric and caramelised palm sugar, with slightly charred edges where the marinade's sugars have gone furthest under the direct heat, and if that colour is absent the baste will not adhere properly on the turn. Baste with coconut milk, turn, and grill the second side for a further 2 minutes, basting once more; the total grill time is 4–5 minutes maximum, and the interior should be just cooked through, since the residual heat of the skewer will continue the process after removal from the coals.
7
Remove the skewers from the heat immediately once the second side matches the first: deeply coloured, slightly charred at the edges, and glossed from the coconut milk basting. Rest for one minute so the juices redistribute and the surface stays lacquered rather than running when cut. Serve at once alongside the warm peanut sauce and the cucumber relish.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Chicken thigh from a free-range breed with high fat-to-muscle ratio; fresh turmeric; freshly pressed coconut milk; palm sugar from a reputable producer — the marinade's colour and sweetness are the foundation of everything that follows on the grill.
02
Estate — Good-quality chicken thigh; fresh turmeric where available, dried otherwise; canned full-fat coconut milk (unsweetened, single-press); block palm sugar.
03
Market — Standard supermarket chicken thigh; dried turmeric; canned coconut milk; palm sugar or light brown sugar as a substitute.
04
House — Chicken breast in place of thigh — the cut is leaner and the margin for over-grilling narrows considerably; standard canned coconut milk; soft light brown sugar in place of palm sugar.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The grilled surface is a deep amber-gold from the turmeric and caramelised palm sugar, with slightly charred edges where the marinade's sugars have gone furthest under the charcoal's direct heat.
◇Smell. Over the charcoal: turmeric, lemongrass, and cumin in combination with coconut fat and charcoal smoke, the palm sugar caramelising — the aroma is present and pronounced before the correct colour is reached; if the smoke smells acrid rather than sweet, the sugars have burned past the correct point.
◇Touch. The skewered meat, pressed lightly, yields with only slight resistance — it is not hard or tightly sprung, which would indicate over-cooking in a thin cut.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish is decided at the 2-minute check on the first side: the surface must be deeply caramelised with a slight charred gloss, the edges slightly dark — pull too soon and the sugars have not developed; hold too long and the thin cut dries and tightens beyond recovery.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
SOV Wheated Rye Whisky
Sons of Vancouver Distillery · Metro Vancouver
Sons of Vancouver Distillery · North Vancouver →Whisky
From British Columbia
Beer
Without alcohol
Americano — Burundi Kayanza (Gatukuza Women Group)
Gatukuza Women Group
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Coffee
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance