Satay is the Indonesian street food of seasoned meat skewered on sticks, grilled, and commonly served with peanut sauce.
Small pieces of chicken, beef, goat, pork, seafood, or vegetables are marinated with regional spices before being cooked over charcoal. Indonesian versions are often served with bumbu kacang, a rich peanut sauce, along with rice cakes such as lontong or ketupat, pickles, sambal, or sweet soy sauce.
Satay is especially associated with Indonesia and has many regional forms. Sate Madura is a widely known chicken style, while Bali’s sate lilit uses seasoned minced meat wrapped around a stick or lemongrass stalk. Sate kambing uses goat and is often paired with sweet soy sauce.
The dish is also popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, and the southern Philippines, so Indonesia is not its only home. Peanut sauce is the classic accompaniment, but satay traditionally means grilled skewered food and can be served with other sauces as well.