Begin by soaking 10 wooden skewers in water for half an hour. This will prevent them from burning when cooking.
Place the sliced steak in a large bowl with the oil, dark brown sugar, and fish sauce. Mix together using your hands and massage the sauce into the steak for a minute. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 30 mins. (If you want to marinate for longer - i.e. up to overnight, then place in the refrigerator).
500 g (1.1 lbs) Denver steak, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 tbsp dark brown sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce
Whilst the meat is marinating, add all of the basting ingredients to a bowl and whisk together. Put to one side.
200 ml (7 oz) coconut milk, 3 tbsp dark brown sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tsp lemon grass paste, 2 tsp minced ginger, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, ½ tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander
Now place all of the satay sauce ingredients EXCEPT for the lime juice into a small pan.
3 heaped tbsp chunky peanut butter, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 200 ml (7 oz) coconut milk, 1 tbsp dark brown sugar, 1/2 tsp ground coriander
Heat over medium heat whilst stirring with a wooden spoon. The sauce will look thin at first, then as it comes close to boiling point, it will start to thicken. Don't let the sauce boil, just turn down the heat as it approaches boiling point and stir until thickened, then turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice.* Note 1
juice of 1 lime
Take the skewers out of the water and give them a shake to remove excess water, then thread the steak strips onto the skewers, and place the skewers on a plate. Brush with the basting sauce.
Heat a griddle or barbecue very hot. Place the skewers on the griddle and cook for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Turn a couple of times during cooking and baste generously each time you turn the skewers. Note: It will smoke a lot - so keep the windows open!!
Place the skewers on plates, then reheat the satay sauce if you like it hot. Serve in a bowl alongside the skewers. Top with fresh coriander (cilantro) and a few slices of red chilli. If you like lots of toppings, you can also top it with chilli flakes, a little red onion, a few chopped peanuts and some sesame seeds.
Note 1: The sauce can be served cool or warm, or you can reheat if you wish (the oil will separate a little from the peanut butter and coconut milk as it cools, but a good mix with a wooden spoon will bring it back together again).
Can I make Beef Satay ahead?
Yes, you can marinate the beef and place on skewers, then refrigerate for up to a day. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.The basting sauce can be make up 2-3 days in advance, then covered and refrigerated.The satay sauce can be made ahead, cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2-3 days. Place in a pan and reheat whilst stirring if you want to serve it warm.I wouldn't recommend cooking the beef skewers ahead of time and reheating, as the beef will dry out and become chewy.
Can I make extra sauce?
This recipe comes with a good amount of sauce, but yes, you can double or treble the recipe if you like.
Can I make it gluten free?
Replace the soy sauce with tamari and check your fish sauce and peanut butter are gluten free (they usually are) and it should be fine for gluten free.
Other cooking methods (oven, bbq, grill)
You can place these kebabs on a barbecue or under the grill. You can even cook them in the oven (watch out, the kebab sticks will be HOT!) for approx 10 minutes at 200C/400F.
Recipe inspiration source:
The beef and basting sauce is adapted from Cook’s Illustrated “Meat Book” cookbook (fyi – this is an affiliate link, and incidentally, I’ve got a copy of this book, and it’s awesome – so much info on how to perfectly cook meat).Nutritional Information is per skewer (based on 10 skewers) including 1/10 of the sauce.