The best way to describe Satay Celup is that it’s a hybrid satay and steamboat (aka hotpot) dish – think skewers of meat and vegetables dipped into a peanut-based sauce in a pot at your table. I’ve only had it once, during my first trip to Melaka many years ago; I was surprised to find there was something like a “satay celup quarter” in the city – where it seemed like all the restaurants there specialised in satay celup.
Melaka-born Nyonya cuisine expert and Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) chef Debbie Teoh demonstrated how to make Satay Celup sauce in the first episode of Street Food Journeys: Malaysia (her segment kicks in at the 9-minute mark)
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Here’s Debbie’s Satay Celup recipe from the show:
Satay Celup
INGREDIENTS:
1⁄2 cup cooking oil
Spice Paste:
2 stalks lemongrass, thinly sliced
8 shallots, sliced
80 g galangal, thinly sliced
15 g dried chillies, soaked in hot water till soft
20 g candlenuts
3⁄4 Tbsp coriander seeds, pre-toasted
1⁄2 Tbsp fennel, pre-,oasted
25 g garlic, sliced
2 chicken carcasses (or pork bones), chopped
1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
50 g Gula Melaka (or brown sugar), to taste
1⁄2 Tbsp salt, to taste
150 – 200 g peanuts, fried & ground coarsely
Recommended Dipping Options:
300 g meat (beef/chicken/pork), sliced into 4cm
rectangles
500 g medium sized prawns, peeled
400 g squid, cleaned & cut into 4cm squares
350 g brown squid, cleaned & cut into 4cm squares
10 pcs tofu puffs, halved & filled with a slice of
cucumber then skewered
250 g Meatballs
250 g fish balls
1 packet deep fried bean curd slices
Some “yong tau foo” like stuffed chilly, bitter gourd
200 g cockles
20 pcs hardboiled quails eggs, peeled
200 g vegetable balls
1 packet fresh brown mushroom
1 packet young corn, cut into 3cm lengths
1⁄2 loaf Hainanese bread, cut into 2.5cm squares
2 cucumber, quartered & sliced
Deep-fried Chinese crullers “yau char kwai”
Bamboo skewers
METHOD:
- Place the chicken carcasses and crushed peppercorns in a large pot, then cover with 2.5 litres water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or till it reduces down by a third.
- Strain the stock & set aside. Alternatively, use chicken stock granules and add water.
- Using an electric blender, finely blend the spice paste ingredients. Heat oil in a wok sauté spice paste until fragrant, stirring continuously.
- Add the stock and gula Melaka, then add salt & ground peanuts to taste. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, then check for seasoning.
- To serve, lay out a select of meat/vegetables to cook in the gravy. Keep the gravy on a simmer, stirring
occasionally to prevent the gravy scorching at the bottom of the pot. - Using bamboo skewers, place the meat/vegetables into the gravy to cook through.
- Serve with some Chinese bread, “yau char kwai” & freshly cut cucumber for dipping into the Satay Celup gravy.
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