Paired with a sweet and sour dipping sauce, this Fiery Malaysian Beef Satay recipe will keep you coming back for more!
Special moment alert: this is the first Malaysian recipe on the blog!
Okay, that might not be entirely true.
You see, Malaysian cuisine has influenced a TON of dishes in neighboring regions like Thailand and Indonesia. I’ve had both Thai and Indonesian Satay, but I had no idea that Satay originated from Malaysia!
Right, well that’s how I discovered this delicious Malay Sambal.
This little jar caught my attention at Whole Foods the other day, so I had to grab some and bring it home to experiment. You can also grab a jar on Amazon right here!
I used the Sambal to marinate some beef (uh-may-zing), and then used it AGAIN to make a sweet and sour dipping sauce for the finished satay.
The sambal is made from a mixture of fresh red chilies, oil, dried shrimp, garlic, sugar, dried chilies, fermented shrimp paste, salt and vinegar.
If these ingredients sound familiar to my fellow Thai-food junkies (holler!), that’s because Malaysian sambal is influenced by Indonesian sambal, which is used in a lot of Thai stir-fries.
Confusing? Maybe a little bit.
Just think of Malaysian food as an incredible amalgamation (ooh, good word, right?) of Malay, Chinese, and Indian food traditions, with Indonesian, Thai, Portuguese and Middle Eastern influences.
Basically, it’s like all of my wildest dreams came true.
If you like this recipe please share it with your friends!
Alright, it’s about time I shared this super easy recipe with you so you can recreate it at home.
Here’s the Recipe!
Fiery Malaysian Beef Satay Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound petite sirloin steaks - cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon Malaysian Hot Chili Sambal
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Toss the beef pieces with ¼ cup of the hot chili sambal. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours.
- Soak 4 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to prevent burning. Thread the beef pieces onto the wooden skewers.
- Make the dipping sauce by combining 1 tablespoon sambal with the fish sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar in a small bowl.
- Heat a greased grill pan over medium high heat until nearly smoking. Cook the beef skewers for 60-90 seconds, then use tongs to turn them over. Cook for another 60-90 seconds before removing from the grill pan.
- Serve the beef skewers hot with a side of dipping sauce.
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve got a vacant spot on my list of 101 Small Plate recipes that this is going to fill. Delicious!