Chicken Satay with Yogurt-Cucumber Dipping Sauce [Menu]

I am thrilled to announce that The Powdered Plum is hosting this week’s Project Pastry Queen challenge! So far during my time being a member with PPQ, I have sampled and tried several recipes for baked goods - which have been mostly wonderful. It would make sense that we would have mostly sweeter treats coming out of a book called The Pastry Queen. That being said, when my turn came around, I was really excited to try one of Rebecca Rather’s savory recipes. So I picked several out, laid the options in front of my husband, and Matt chose this recipe. And it was a good choice!






As with every recipe, we made some changes to suit our tastes. A short little fact about me is that I absolutely abhor the smell of cilantro, so, unless it’s a special occassion involving Matt (who could literally sit with a bowl of cilantro under his nose all day) it generally gets left out of recipes. But the major change we made was the amount. We only made a third of the recipe (what with there only being two of us). But, as a result, I can safely claim that this recipe reduces very well. So, if you can’t eat six whole chicken breasts worth of satay by yourself (or, like me, don’t want to admit to yourself you can), you should feel safe only making just as much as you need.






Another funny thing about apartment living.. no outdoor grill! But it actually worked quite well on ye olde George Foreman! I would really recommend using an outside grill, if you have it, though. I think the smokey flavor would really compliment the final product. Still, they were delicious, all the same.






Overall, although a wee bit time-consuming, this makes for an excellent, flavorful meal! I encourage you to try it! I’m so excited to host my first challenge for this amazing group, and I hope you’ll pop over to the group post on Project Pastry Queen to see the other bloggers in action!



Recipe Ahead!




Chicken Satay with Yogurt-Cucumber Dipping Sauce
From The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

You Will Need…
Wooden skewers
Three medium-large bowls
Cooking spray
A grill (of some form)
Measuring cups and spoons
Cheesecloth or coffee filters
Colander

Dipping Sauce
1 (32 oz.) container full-fat or low-fat plain yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh parsley
Zest and juice of 1 lemon, preferably organic
2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

Curry Paste
10 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 fresh jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
2 fresh serrano chiles, seeded and diced
3 Tbsp peeled, minced fresh ginger
1/2 small red onion, cut into small dice
3 Tbsp curry powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 large stalk fresh lemongrass, crushed and cut into 2-inch lengths
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Zest and juice of 2 limes, preferably organic
3/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

Chicken Skewers
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts


To Make the Dipping Sauce
Line a colander with fine cheesecloth or coffee filters. Set the colander over a large bowl. Spoon the yogurt into the colander and drain at least 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator. The yogurt is ready when it is almost as thick as cream cheese.

Discard the liquid that has collected in the bottom of the bowl. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, and juice (salt, and pepper to taste). Whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To Make the Curry Paste
Combine the garlic, jalapeno, serranos, ginger, onion, curry powder, cumin, lemongrass, lime zest, and juice, and olive oil in a large bowl.

To Prepare the Chicken
Cut the chicken into 1-inch strips. Stir the chicken strips into the curry paste, making sure the chicken is thoroughly coated. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours. Submerge the wooden skewers in water and soak at least 30 minutes.

Thread the chicken strips onto the skewers. At this point, you can cook the chicken immediately or cover and refrigerate overnight. Coat the grill with cooking spray and preheat to medium. Grill the skewers for 3 to 5 minutes per side. Or preheat the broiler and broil the skewers about 3 inches away from the heat source for approximately the same length of time.

Serve the skewers hot or at room temperature, alongside bowls of the dipping sauce.