Preparation time
overnight
Cooking time
10 to 30 mins
Serves
Serves 4
By Mandy Yin
From Saturday Kitchen
Ingredients
For the satay spice paste:
- Lemongrass stalk, 1, roughly chopped
- Onions, 600g/1lb 5oz, roughly chopped
- Garlic cloves, 5
- Ground coriander, 1 tsp
- Chilli powder, 1 tsp
- Ground turmeric, 1 tsp
- Fennel seeds, ½ tsp
- Ground cumin, ½ tsp
- Dark brown sugar, 100g/3½oz
- Salt, 1 tbsp
For the peanut sauce:
- Lightly salted peanuts, 180g/6¼oz, dry-toasted
- Satay spice paste, 75g/2½oz
- Coconut milk, 200ml/⅓pt
- Dark brown sugar, 60g/2¼oz
- Tamarind paste, 2½ tbsp
- Chilli powder, ¼ tsp
- Salt, ½ tsp (or less), to taste
For the cucumber pickle:
- Cucumbers, 2
- Red onions, 400g/14oz
- Star anise, 1
- Ginger, 2½cm/1in, sliced lengthways into 3 or 4 pieces
- White caster sugar, 125g/4½oz
- White rice vinegar, 75ml/2½fl oz
- Salt, 1½ tsp
For the tomato sambol:
- Fresh red chillies, 150g/5½oz
- Garlic cloves, 3
- Vegetable oil, 60ml/4 tbsp
- Tomato purée, 3 tbsp
- Dark brown sugar, 4½ tbsp
- Table salt, 1½ tsp
For the patties:
- Chicken thighs, 500g/1lb 2oz, boneless, skin removed, minced in a food processor
- Homemade satay spice paste, 75g/2½oz
- Free-range egg, 1, beaten
- Oil, for frying
To serve:
- Good-quality burger buns (such as brioche), 4
- Chips (optional)
Method
To make the satay spice paste:
- Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until a fine purée forms. If using a smaller food processor or handheld stick blender, work in batches and combine them afterward.
- Always blend lemongrass with some onion to avoid hard, fibrous strands. Set aside.
To make the peanut sauce:
- Pulse the peanuts in a food processor until they reach a rough, sandy texture.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the ground peanuts, the remaining sauce ingredients, and 50ml/2fl oz water.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
To make the cucumber pickle:
- In a small saucepan, combine 350ml/12fl oz water, star anise, ginger, sugar, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat.
- Remove the ginger and star anise from the pickling liquid.
- Cut the cucumbers in half, then halve again lengthways. Deseed them with a spoon and slice into crescent moon shapes, ideally no thicker than 5mm/¼in.
- Cut the red onion into eighths, then slice into crescent moon shapes, ideally no thicker than 5mm/¼in.
- Mix the cucumber and red onion thoroughly in a large bowl, then transfer to a storage container.
- Pour the pickling liquid over the vegetables and let it sit overnight, then drain thoroughly.
To make the tomato sambal:
- Combine the chillies, garlic, and oil in a bowl and blend to a fine purée using a hand-held blender.
- Heat the oil in a small non-stick saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the chilli-garlic purée and stir-fry for 8 minutes.
- Add the tomato purée, salt, sugar, and 80ml/2½fl oz water. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Once cool, transfer to a clean glass jar for storage.
To make the patties:
- Mix the chicken mince, satay spice paste, and egg thoroughly in a large container using a gloved hand. Marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat, adding just enough oil to coat the bottom.
- Scoop out two balls of the chicken mix with a large ice-cream scoop and flatten into patties using a flat spatula.
- Pan-fry the patties for about 8 minutes, flipping every couple of minutes.
To assemble the burger:
- Cut the buns in half and toast the cut sides.
- Spread enough peanut sauce to cover the base of the bun.
- Add a cooked chicken patty, 2 tablespoons of cucumber pickles, and 1 tablespoon of tomato sambal (or more, to taste).
- Place the top bun on and serve with chips, if desired.
