Satay

Satay (also written saté) is a dish that may have originated in Sumatra or Java in Indonesia but is popular in many southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. The Japanese variant is called yakitori.

Recipes and ingredients vary from country to country. It generally consists of a certain kind of food grilled on a bamboo or coconut leaf spine skewers over wood or charcoal fire, like meat marinated with turmeric powder, fish, shrimps or poultry. It may be served with a spicy peanut sauce, or peanut gravy, onions and ketupat.

Although some allege that satay was invented by Chinese immigrants who sold the skewered barbecue meat on the street (the word satay means "triple stacked" (三疊) in Amoy dialect), it is much more likely that it was invented by Malay or Javanese street vendors influenced by the Arabian kebabs. This is because, only after the arrival of Arab immigrants in the early 19th Century did satay become popular in South East Asia. The original satay meat, mutton, is also a meat traditionally favoured by Arabs, but not very popular with the Chinese.

The most famous satay stall in Malaysia is Sate Samuri in Kajang, Selangor which was established in 1917. Equally famous is the Sabang satay stalls in Jalan Agus Salim, Jakarta.