Indonesian Seafood Sate Lilit

Indonesian seafood sate lilit

A fabulous sate (satay) from Bali which can be made with a variety of different meats; I love the minced seafood version. What makes it different from the myriad of other sates from Indonesia (and satays from Malaysia) is that firstly it contains coconut and secondly it is not typically served with a peanut sauce.

And yes, this recipe includes desiccated coconut, not one of my favorite ingredients, but it actually really does work. Of course, feel free to use fresh, shredded coconut if you prefer.
Serves 4
Skill level: Easy
ingredients:
300g haddock fillets
300g uncooked prawns, peeled
75g desiccated coconut
3 kaffir lime leaves, very thinly sliced (optional)
1 tbsp palm sugar or soft brown sugar
wooden skewers (soaked in cold water for 1 hr)
vegetable oil
spice paste
1 tsp belacan (shrimp paste), toasted
2 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
4 cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 red chillies, chopped
3 Birdseye chillies, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 shallots, chopped
5 macadamia nuts
2 sticks of lemongrass (white part only), finely chopped
2 tsp tamarind paste
directions:

1. Start by wrapping the belacan in kitchen foil. Dry fry over a medium-high heat for 2 minutes until "fragrant". Set aside to cool. Dry fry coriander seeds and peppercorns over a medium heat. When fragrant tip into a spice grinder or food processor. Blend to a powder.
2. Add the rest of spice paste ingredients. Blend until smooth.
3. Gently heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan. Fry paste over a medium heat until fragrant, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes). Set aside to cool.
4. Blitz the fish and prawns in food processor until a rough paste. Combine with coconut. Leave for about 10 minutes to allow coconut to absorb excess moisture from the seafood. Then add lime leaves palm sugar and cooked spice paste. If mixture seems too dry then add a splash of water; if too wet, add a little more coconut.
5. Mould the mixture in long sausage shapes onto the wooden skewers for sate. (I'd run out of skewers so just created fish "balls"!)
6. Heat a grill on high. Grill sate for about 5 minutes on each side. You can brush them with a little extra vegetable oil. Alternatively gently fry balls in a small frying pan for about 10 minutes until cooked through.

tips:

• For an authentic taste of Indonesia, add a generous pinch of palm sugar to vegetable oil before brushing the sate.
• My favorite quick dipping sauce uses 4 tablespoons Lingham's or Maggi's chilli sauce, 2 tbsp Worcester sauce, 1 tsp of palm sugar and 1 finely sliced Birdseye chilli.
• The fish balls make a great addition to laksa noodle soup.