Balinese-Style Kebabs in Istanbul

Coconut, lemongrass, peanuts and chilies are the main flavors you will taste in these Balinese-style kebabs; or should I say - chicken sate.

Today, I decided to finally dig into some of the exotic ingredients I brought back from our Bali trip in November. We had taken a delightful day-long cooking Balinese cooking class at the traditional home of Wayan and Puspa, owners of Paon Bali Cooking Classes. The food was fresh and full of the sassy Asian flavors that I enjoy so much! I highly recommend this couple's cooking class - they welcomed us into their home in Bali.

Taken in Bali: Wayan grilled our freshly-made chicken sate over the coconut husks.

Time to make my own Turklish version of the chicken sate in we made in Bali!

First, you will need one recipe of the Balinese Spice Paste I made awhile back for my Balinese-Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup. I did have some candlenuts on hand so I used them in place of the blanched almonds I used before.

Candlenuts look a bit like a large hazelnut or a macadamia nut.

Next, you need some ground chicken, so that required a trip to my friends at Kardeşler Kasabı in Beşiktaş. My kasap guy asked me if I was making adana kebab. I said, "Belki." (Maybe.) I didn't want to try and explain that I was making an Asian-style kebab.

Hopefully, you also can find some lemongrass, but the rest of the ingredients are usually found here in Istanbul. If you are back in the U.S. or elsewhere, you probably will have an easier time finding these ingredients. 

You'll need to set aside some time for prepping all the ingredients, molding the kebabs and cooking, but I think delicious food is always worth it! Guess who also made homemade vanilla ice cream this afternoon?

Afiyet Olsun! 

Balinese-Style Chicken Kebabs with Peanut Sauce made at my home in Istanbul.

For a good butcher and a specialty foods shop, check out these two places in Istanbul:

·                     Kolaylar Manav, Arnavutköy (You often can buy lemongrass here.)

·                     Kardeşler Kasabı, Gazi Refik Sok. No: 3 Türkali Mh., Beşiktaş

Balinese-Style Chicken "Kebabs" with Peanut Sauce

Yields: 15 kebabs/sate approx. 40 grams (1.4 oz.) each

Ingredients:

500      g.                                 minced chicken

40        g.         (1/2 c.)             dried coconut flakes

2          T.                                 Balinese Spice Paste

1          T.                                 palm sugar or sub brown sugar

1          T.                                 fried shallots or freshly diced if you don't have time

1          ea.                                juice and the zest of a lime

To taste                                   salt and pepper

15        ea.                                bamboo or kebab sticks (thicker than skewers)

In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, coconut, spice paste, sugar, shallots, lime juice and zest, salt and pepper with gloved hands. Mix thoroughly.

Take about 2 tablespoons (or weigh out 40 grams for each portion) of the mixture and form a ball. Mold the ball onto the end of the stick, flattening out as you go. Repeat the process to make about 15 sticks.

I actually made a double batch of these because we are having friends over for dinner tonight.

Grill the sticks over an outdoor grill until golden brown, turning once. Alternatively, use an indoor grill or grill pan, like I did, to cook the chicken kebabs/sate, until golden brown on both sides, about 7-8 minutes.

Serve with the peanut sauce below as an appetizer or with steamed rice for a main course.

Balinese-Style Peanut Sauce (Base Sate)

Ingredients:

250      g.         (1 1/2 c.)          unsalted peanuts, roasted until golden brown

5          ea.                                cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2          ea.                                Turkish aci peppers (hot peppers)

50        g.         (-1/2 c.)            ginger, roughly chopped

4-5       T.                                 kecap manis, Indonesian sweet soy sauce

2          T.                                 palm sugar or brown sugar

Pinch                                       salt

juice                                         of 1/2 a lime

240      ml.       (1 c.)                water, plus more if needed

To make the sauce, place all the ingredients (except the water) in a food processor. Blend until you form a fine paste. Alternatively, use a large stone mortar to grind the ingredients into a fine paste.

Then, thin out the paste with water until you reach the thickness you want of the peanut sauce. Slightly heat the sauce. Sate sauces are always served warm in Bali.