For this recipe, I am looking at Satay Chicken for inspiration. Satay is the national dish of Indonesia and Malaysia, but it can also be found in restaurants and kitchens elsewhere in much of Southeast Asia, too. I’ve used whole chicken pieces to marinate then roast on a tray for swift ease, rather than threading the meat onto small skewers to grill over hot coals. For these reasons, this is not a satay recipe but a chicken dish cooked very much with satay flavours in mind.

Serves 4

Prep: 15 mins (plus optional 1 hour marinading)
Cook: 35 – 40 mins

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tbsp light brown soft sugar (or use honey)
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1–2 tsp chilli flakes, to taste
1 lemongrass stalk, outer layers removed, root trimmed, and stem thinly sliced
2 tbsp vegetable or groundnut oil
200ml full-fat coconut milk
1kg whole chicken thighs, legs or drumsticks
250g roasted peanuts (skin on or off, as you like)
2 limes: 1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges to serve
2 bunches of spring onions, trimmed and cut into 4cm lengths
2 red chillies, thinly sliced (deseeded if you want less heat)
1 small bunch of coriander, leaves roughly chopped

Method:

• Blend the garlic, half the sugar and half the soy sauce together with ground spices, chilli flakes, lemongrass, oil and 100ml of the coconut milk, to form a smooth paste.
• Mix the coconut-milk mixture with the chicken, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, although the longer the better. remove the chicken from the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan to cook it. Alternatively, forgo the marinating time and continue with the method below.
• Blend half the peanuts together with the remaining sugar, soy sauce and coconut milk and the lime juice, and put to one side.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.
• Arrange the chicken and any excess marinade in a baking tray along with the spring onions.
• Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the chicken is golden, beginning to char and cooked through.
• Remove from the oven and drizzle with the coconut–peanut sauce, then sprinkle with the remaining peanuts and the fresh chilli and chopped coriander (cilantro).
• Serve with the lime wedges on the side for squeezing over.

Recipe adapted from One Pan Chicken (Hardie Grant)