Satay

Known as sate in Malay (and pronounced similarly to the English), it can be found throughout all the states of Malaysia in restaurants and on the street, with hawkers selling satay in food courts and Pasar malam. While the popular kinds of satay are usually beef and chicken satays, different regions of Malaysia have developed their own unique variations. Sate is often associated with Muslim Malays, but pork sate is also available at non-halal Chinese eating establishments, demonstrating the melding of cultures in this diverse society.

There are a number of well-known satay outlets in Kajang, Selangor which is dubbed the Sate City in the country. Sate Kajang is a generic name for a style of sate where the meat chunks are bigger than normal, and the sweet peanut sauce served along with a portion of fried chilli paste. Given its popularity, sate Kajang is now found throughout Malaysia. Stalls and restaurants around Kajang offer not only the more traditional chicken or beef satay, but also more exotic meats such as venison, rabbit or fish, as well as gizzard, liver, and a number of other variations.

Another type of meat satay is the sate lok-lok from Penang and sate celup (dip satay) from Malacca. Both are Malaysian Chinese fusions of the hotpot and the Malay satay. Pieces of raw meat, tofu, century eggs, quail eggs, fish cake, offal or vegetables are skewered on bamboo sticks. These are cooked by being dipped in boiling water or stock. The satay is then eaten with a sweet, dark sauce, sometimes with chilli sauce as an accompaniment. If the satay is eaten with satay sauce, it is called sate lok-lok. If the satay is cooked with boiling satay peanut sauce, it is called sate celup. Both dishes are available from street vendors or in certain restaurants, and the majority are not halal. Customers use a common container containing boiling stock to personally cook their satay. Sauces are either served in common containers or individually. There are usually no tables near street vendors, and customers thus tend to gather around the food cart.