not skrewed up but skewered good

Craving for the distinct taste of satay...  Thus far, I have learned - this dish has versions spanning across SouthEast Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam (did I miss any place?). My 1st taste of this skewered goodness was back in the late 2000's, in my 2nd home Cebu City. Those were the heydays enjoyed by Thai cuisine when Thai establishments sprouted everywhere in town. 

Back then, this was my limited meat-in-sticks background:

• Pinoy BBQ, fanned over old-school charcoal grills, that I sooo love and grew up with, 
• American sweet-tangy garlic/honey-mustard and hot black-pepper grills, 
• Japanese Yakiniku, oishii ne! 
• Also 1 memorable foray into Brazilian meat pierced in those huge sword-like skewers, an intro from a Japs-Brazilian fellow in our Nihongo kenshusei bunch.
• Tender Persian kebabs, oozing the tastiest of juices.
• But, Korean fare has not yet reached fever-pitch that time in our region, so zero inkling nor craving for Korean grilled meat then (a pity!) 

With my inexperienced tastebuds, that Thai satay was a distinct and welcome relish! 
🚀 Warp speed to the present, my palate sure have changed, but every satay flavor remains high up in my chart.

Prep Time: 20 mins (with a trusty food processor)
Cook Time: 25 mins

🥜 Prep
Soak skewer sticks for 30 minutes or overnight.
Preheat oven 20mins at 180 C.

🔥🥜 Meat
750g pork shoulder butt / boneless chicken thigh, sliced bite-size.

🔥🥜 Marinade:
2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin
6 tbsp sugar
1+1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp kicap manis (alternative: 3 parts honey/brown sugar, 1 part soy sauce)
4 pcs lemongrass (white part only) minced
3 pcs garlic
1 big onion (or 15 pcs shallot)
1 thumb-size ginger/galagal
olive/vegetable oil to blend (if needed, add more to help when blending/processing)

Dry roast coriander seeds and cumin.
Ground together
(cue in: trusty mortar & pestle. Or! ziplock bag, empty jar, & "silencer" rubber placemat 😶).
Put all marinade ingredients in a blender/food processor into paste.
Massage the meat in a zip-lock bag.
Marinate in fridge for an hour or overnight.

🔥🥜 Grill it
0 - Arrange the meat in skewers, making sure its not packed too tight.
     Save the  marinade for the sauce.
1 - Set perpendicularly on a grill tray or place on a baking tray lined with foil / baking paper.
2 - Bake at 180C for 10 mins.
3 - Flip the skewers.
4 - Bake at 240C for another 10mins.

Serve with cucumber wedges, onion rings/slices, cabbage mini-squares, chunky tomatoes, and what-have-you.

Learned from:
Spice n Pans
Sauce to do, Spice n Pans, Simpol.

Here's our recent take sans sticks (ran out of sticks and couldn't find the skewers 😁):

For the sauce, a next version is a must. Had a bit of a setback with the one I made, though yummy, it was a tad too dry. It should be sticky yet runny-ish. Noting other links for an update soon when satay craving strikes back!
Chili flakes, chopped nuts, coconut milk, peanut butter... mmm, mmm, mmm, promises.

Update: 
Here's a new take using Marion's Kitchen Satay sauce, easier to do. But my execution of it was not quite there yet for hubby's taste. Should be more peanut-y than coconut-y.

Aiming for this kind (🠋this is Indonesian version, he said:

Aha! no wonder, my radar was in the wrong geo 🤣

Oh well, try again next time! 💪💪
After all, Thomas Edison completed the light bulb after 1,000 attempts. (This homemade satay sauce should not take that long. 🙏)