Chicken Satay from Thailand

Nothing screams summer more than tasty Thai chicken satay skewers done on the barbecue.  If you don't have a barbecue you can do them under the grill.  Remember as the chicken is cut into thin strips they will cook quite quickly, so you can't leave them while you do something else.  Turn them every 5 minutes, and depending on the heat of the barbecue or grill, they'll be done in about 15 minutes.  You can serve these with jasmine rice and the satay peanut dipping sauce.  I like to prepare the marinade and let the chicken strips soak in it for 24 hours.  However if you are in a hurry, an hour in the marinade is fine.  Obviously more flavour is absorbed if you leave the chicken strips in longer.

5 chicken breast fillets cut into thin strips
wooden skewers
1 small handful chopped lemon grass
1 onion roughly chopped
2 chilies finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger finely sliced
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oil
Lay the chicken strips in a container.  Take the rest of the ingredients and put them into your blender.  Blend until you have a thin paste.  Pour the thin paste over the chicken strips.  Use your hand to make sure all the strips are coated in the marinade.  Cover and put in your fridge for 1-24 hours.  Thread the marinated chicken strips onto the skewers.  If you let the wooden skewers soak in water first, they will absorb the water and be less likely to burn.  Place the chicken satay skewers on the barbecue or under the grill.  Keep an eye on them so that they don't overcook and you end up with dried out chicken.  They should take roughly 15 minutes.  Make sure you turn them regularly.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com