Irresistible Turkey Satay marinated with spices and grilled on skewers. Delicious served with an easy Satay Peanut Sauce and chunks of cucumber.
The fourth week of November is the beginning of the year-end holiday season. This year there is a special anticipation at our house because Ro-Taro (eldest son) will soon be home from college for Thanksgiving. You can be sure that I will be cooking up a storm in the next few days.
This week is going to be a busy one for me. There is shopping, decorating, and baking to be done. I will be going to the store to pick up a fresh turkey for the big meal. A turkey for Thanksgiving is a must for my boys. How different from when I was growing up in Malaysia. In fact, I have never heard of Thanksgiving nor eaten turkey until my final year of secondary school (equivalent to high school here).
Turkey could only be purchased at specialty supermarkets and was something eaten by foreigners during Christmas as per the British custom. My first taste of turkey was at a friend’s house and I remember it was such a novelty. The turkey was chopped into small pieces and deep fried, much like fried chicken.
With Thanksgiving just days away, this month’s theme for World on a Plate is TURKEY of course! I am representing Malaysia and since turkey is not a meat commonly eaten there, I had to use some creative license to come up with a presentable dish. I decided on satay (grilled skewered meat) as turkey meat is similar to that of chicken and chicken satay is very popular in Malaysia. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised with how these Turkey Satay turned out.
I also made a simplified version of the satay peanut sauce using crunchy peanut butter. It turned out really well. Do not omit the peanut sauce as it is a must with satay. I think you will really enjoy this Turkey Satay. Do give it a try! 🙂
Irresistible Turkey Satay marinated with spices and grilled on skewers. Delicious served with an easy Satay Peanut Sauce and chunks of cucumber.
- 20 oz boneless turkey breast tenderloins (cut into bite sized pieces) (560g)
- Vegetable oil for brushing
- 1 cucumber (sliced)
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 1 onion (peeled and cut into small pieces)
- 1 stalk lemongrass (sliced bottom third into rings)
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 onion (peeled and cut into small pieces)
- 1 stalk lemongrass (sliced bottom third into rings)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ cup chunky peanut butter (120g)
- ½ to ¾ cup water (120ml to 180ml)
- 1 tbsp Sriracha hot chili sauce
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
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Soak 12 skewers in water for an hour.
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Blend the two onions and lemongrass in a blender or food processor with 2 tablespoons of water. Pour into a large bowl and remove half into a separate smaller bowl for the satay peanut sauce.
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Mix in ground coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and sugar. Add turkey and give it a good stir to get meat well coated with spices. Cover with plastic wrap and allow meat to marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour. It is best to marinade over night. The longer meat is marinated, the better the flavor.
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Thread 5 pieces of marinated turkey onto each skewer until all turkey pieces are used up.
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Grill chicken under broiler for 8 to 9 minutes on each side. Alternatively, cook turkey over barbecue grill brushing with vegetable oil. Turn the skewers frequently to prevent meat from burning. Turkey should be slightly charred on the outside and just cooked on the inside.
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Remove and serve immediately with satay peanut sauce, sliced cucumber, and onions.
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Heat vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Stir fry blended onion and lemongrass for 5 to 6 minutes. Add peanut butter and ½ to ¾ cup (120ml to 180ml) water (depending on the kind of peanut butter used). Stir until combined.
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Add Sriracha sauce, tamarind paste, sugar, and salt. Reduce heat and allow it to cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
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Transfer to a bowl and serve warm or at room temperature.
And now for the winner of my Cookbook Giveaway. Drum roll please…..
Congratulations Hillary, commenter No. 14! You are the winner of my cookbook giveaway. Please send me an email with your address so that the Mum’s Not Cooking cookbook can be mailed to you as soon as possible. I can be reach at rotinrice@gmail.com. THANK YOU all for participating!
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
Elin says
November 19, 2012 at 2:16 amHi Biren…this looks mouthwatering…turkey satay…wish I could dig into it :p….btw I have tried out your tofu ,corn and chive fritter and it was delicious. I have linked you 🙂 Thank you so much for the recipe.
http://elinluv.blogspot.com/2012/11/tofucorn-and-chive-fritter.html
Biren says
December 1, 2012 at 10:13 amThanks for the link back. I appreciate it. 🙂
Ann@Anncoo Journal says
November 19, 2012 at 2:52 amThis turkey satay looks so delicious. Wish I can have one or two to try 🙂
Congratulations to the Hillary for winning the cookbook.
Biren says
December 1, 2012 at 10:14 amThanks Ann! You may have two. 🙂
Robyn says
November 19, 2012 at 3:47 amDarn it! I really wanted to win this. I am not all that fond of turkey, but this recipe looks good. Cookbooks are my secret passion.
denise @ singapore shiok says
November 19, 2012 at 8:22 amWow Biren! That looks amazing!! I cooked dinner hours ago but have been too occupied to eat with hubs and my boys. Now I’m feel faint looking at your satay 😛 < See my tongue hanging out! I really, really want a few sticks, dripping with some of that thick satay sauce!! Think I better go eat now LOL
Congratulations Hillary, I hope you enjoy reading and using the book.
Biren says
December 1, 2012 at 10:15 amI love the peanut sauce, if I can say so myself. Simplified but delicious! 🙂
kitchen flavours says
November 19, 2012 at 9:50 amMy family just had satay last night! Came back from a day trip and we stopped over at the Kesas Highway for satay!
Your turkey satay certainly looks delicious! That’s really creative of you!
Congratulations to the winner!
PolaM says
November 19, 2012 at 12:32 pmThose kebabs look delicious! Great recipe for WOP
Kitchen Belleicious says
November 19, 2012 at 2:14 pmyum yum yum! You outdid yourself on this recipe. I love satay and the turkey is perfect as the main! hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving
Pam says
November 19, 2012 at 2:29 pmThis sounds soooo good! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hyosun Ro says
November 19, 2012 at 9:27 pmThe turkey satay looks absolutely mouthwatering! Sounds so delicious with the peanut sauce.
Jeannie says
November 20, 2012 at 6:19 pmTurkey satay sounds delicious and looks it too! Big chunks too, yum! Congrats to the winner:)
mjskit says
November 20, 2012 at 8:42 pmYUM! Turkey satay sounds like a wonderful idea! It certainly looks absolutely delicious. How exciting that your son will be home this week. Sounds like you have a fun and exciting week planned! Happy thanksgiving Darlin!
Biren says
December 1, 2012 at 10:16 amIt was good to have him home. He will be home again soon for Christmas. 🙂
Kristi Rimkus says
November 26, 2012 at 8:58 amI remember when my kids would come home for the holidays from school. It was such a special treat! I’ll bet these turkey satay were gone in a flash.
Biren says
December 1, 2012 at 10:17 amIt was really good to have him home. Looking forward to the next holiday. 🙂
kristy says
November 28, 2012 at 3:31 amI am salivating. No one can ever resist satay. I’ll have to say NONE! Except vegetarian eater. haha….
Kristy
Biren says
December 1, 2012 at 10:18 amI find it hard to resist satay too. Ate it several times when I visited my parents in June.
Guinan says
November 25, 2014 at 10:14 amI’m dutch and – due to our colonial Indonesian past – satay is very prominent on our menu. I’ve never heard of using turkey, but as it closely resembles chicken (which we DO use) I’m sure it will be delicious and I’ll certainly try your recipe in the near future!
Just a TIP: I you want to prevent the wooden skewers from burning, soak them in water before using.