Charcoal-grilled skewers of marinated chicken, mutton or beef, eaten with a thick chunky peanut sauce, cucumber-onion relish and ketupat rice cakes. The Malay-Muslim Satay Street at Lau Pa Sat is an iconic open-air Singapore experience.
Satay is an iconic Singapore Malay-Muslim dish, and the Satay Street at Lau Pa Sat and Boon Tat Street, where nine dedicated open-air satay carts run nightly, is a uniquely Singapore experience. Charcoal-grilled skewers of marinated chicken, mutton or beef are eaten with a thick, chunky sweet-spicy peanut sauce, a cucumber-onion relish, and ketupat (woven palm-leaf rice cakes). The Malay-Muslim hawker culture around satay is one of Singapore's defining street-food traditions.
Smoky, charred, lemongrass-scented skewers with a faint sweetness, dipped in a thick, chunky, sweet-spicy peanut sauce, the cucumber and onion cutting through. Eaten off the stick with rice cake, it is smoky, savoury and the taste of a Singapore night.
The meat is marinated for hours in a paste of lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, coriander, cumin, sugar and salt, which gives the characteristic yellow tinge and aroma. The skewers are grilled fast over very hot charcoal, basted with a lemongrass brushed in oil, so they char on the outside while staying juicy. The peanut sauce is made separately, ground peanuts cooked with palm sugar, chilli and tamarind. The smoke from the charcoal is essential; gas grills miss it.
Variations
A mutton version is the priciest. Some stalls offer rabbit or tripe satay.
On the Palate
Where Satay Singapura sits in the Singaporean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
6 steps · 1 hour
- 110 min
Pound 4 stalks lemongrass, 4cm galangal, 4cm turmeric, 2 tbsp coriander seed, 1 tbsp cumin, 3 tbsp sugar and 2 tsp salt with a little oil to a marinade.
- 25 min
Marinate 800g cubed chicken (or mutton/beef) 4 hours; thread onto bamboo skewers (pre-soaked).
Watch outMarinate the full 4 hours — the lemongrass-turmeric paste needs time to soak in for the colour and aroma, or the satay tastes bland.
- 310 min
Build a hot charcoal fire; grill the skewers 3 minutes per side, basting with oil on a lemongrass brush, until charred.
Watch outGrill fast over fierce charcoal so they char outside while staying juicy — the smoke is the point, so a cooler fire misses it.
- 410 min
For the sauce: simmer 200g ground roasted peanuts with 2 tbsp palm sugar, 1 tbsp tamarind juice, 1 tbsp chilli paste and 300ml water 15 minutes until thick.
- 53 min
Slice cucumber and red onion for the relish.
- 64 min
Serve the satay hot with the peanut sauce, relish and ketupat rice cakes.
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