Say satay, okay?

A certain person in my life pronounces the word, Satay, in a very “Americanised” manner; s’TAY. That tendency of his to place emphasis on the second syllable of all foreign words really rubs me the wrong way. I understand that when one encounters a word that is new and strange to their existing vocabulary, it is impossible to expect one to produce the same pronunciation as another who knows the language. But it’s always the second syllable. Sakura = suh-KU-ra. Naruto = nuh-RU-to. Wasabi = wuh-SA-bi. Pattaya = Pa-TAI-yah. Satay = suh-TAY. Just say SAH-tay, okay?

Okay, back to the food porn. Satay are meat skewers, traditionally composed of two pieces of meat and one of fat (the name means “three pieces”) which have been marinated and grilled over a charcoal stove. Size, shape and flavour can differ according to the person making it but turmeric is a constant; if the meat hasn’t been stained yellow it’s just meat on a stick, not satay. These skewers are served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce for dipping as well as chopped cucumber and pressed rice cakes called ketupat.

These orders of chicken and beef satay were made whilst waiting for our food to come at Lala Chong’s. In the wise words of Eric Cartman, “It’s what you eat before you eat, to make you more hungry”. The satay lady is always at her little stall in the parking lot of the restaurant, diligently asking every new table that arrives if they would like any of her meaty wares. We accepted her offer and soon snatched away at the tasty looking sticks.

It may have been the pre-dinner anticipation and mildly voracious appetite that tinted the experience, but the satay was absolutely jam-packed with sweet and savoury goodness. I often drown the skewers in the thick peanut sauce because the meat can sometimes dry out on the open charcoal grills, but the meat on these sticks was still plump and juicy. The marinade wad delicious and penetrated the meats all the way down to the bamboo skewers. The chicken was very tender and the beef was also good despite requiring a little more effort to pull it off the stick. Satay is classic South-East Asian street food that makes a ridiculously satisfying snack wherever, whenever.