The best Indonesian lamb satay that is easy to make

This lamb satay is about succulent grilled lamb pieces on the skewers and drizzled with spiced peanut and sweet soy sauce. Perfect for a summer barbecue. 

Indonesian lamb satay with a bowl of peanut sauce

This lamb satay is about succulent grilled lamb pieces on the skewers and drizzled with spiced peanut and sweet soy sauce. Perfect for a summer barbecue. 

Lamb Satay

Lamb Satay is an option for those who love Indonesian goat satay aka Sate Kambing.

It is a twist of goat meat to lamb meat which I personally find good. Because here in the UK, goat meat is not easy to get hold of. Whilst lamb is more available all over the country.

Taste-wise, both meat has similarities that make this lamb satay a good option for when I feel like having Sate Kambing.  

a plate of meat skewers with a bowl of peanut sauce with an overlay text

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And I’m always happy with the result, as lamb satay is actually more delicious than goat satay. Maybe because the lamb’s meat doesn’t smell as strong as goat’s meat.

Therefore, this recipe is like a copycat of the traditional Indonesian goat’s meat satay.

You might know that Satay was one of the official national dishes in Indonesia, along with Gado-gado, Rendang, Soto, and Nasi Goreng

These five dishes are extremely popular across the country, and you literally can find any places to eat, restaurants, or street-food sellers who do this food all over Indonesia. 

As for satay, there are many types according to what meat you put on the skewers. 

There is chicken satay, goat satay, beef satay, pork satay, prawn satay, and cuttlefish satay.

But really, the most sought-after ones are either chicken satay or goat satay.

Check out my recipes for Indonesian national dishes:

  1. Beef Rendang.
  2. Sate Ayam (chicken satay).
  3. Soto Ayam.
  4. Gado-gado.
  5. Nasi Goreng.

Simple ingredients 

You need to prepare ingredients of three different things for this easy lamb satay recipe. They are the ingredients for the satay itself, the ingredients for the sauce and the ingredients for the condiment.

Needless to say, the latter is rather optional that you can skip altogether.

For the satay, you need a good quality fresh lamb meat, meat tenderizer, onion, garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin, salt, kaffir lime leaves and oil.

As for the sauce, you will have to prepare peanuts, sweet soy sauce, chillies, onion, garlic, salt, sugar and water.

You can use roasted salted peanuts or you can use raw peanuts that you deep-fry yourself. 

When it comes to chillies, you can use either fresh chillies or red chilli powder. I use the latter for this recipe to show you that you still make good lamb satay sauce with dry spices. 

Last but not least, for the pickle you need cucumber, carrots, shallots, red bird’s eye chillies, sugar, salt and lime juice (or white vinegar). 

How to make lamb satay

In the summertime, you can make Satay on the barbecue. But in the cold winter season, you just use an oven grill or a griddle pan. Though I prefer the latter one as it is easy to control.

So, to cook your lamb satay, firstly you need to make spice paste for lamb satay marinade. Grind the onion, garlic, cumin powder, ground coriander, and salt in a spice grinder or a food processor. 

Then fry the mixture together with kaffir lime leaf in a little oil until it releases an aroma.

chopped onion and spices on a frying pan
frying spices

Rub the spice mix all over the meat pieces and leave to marinate for about 1-2 hours. The longer the better.

lamb pieces with spices
lamb in marinade

When you are ready to cook the meat, heat up your griddle pan and drizzle one teaspoon of oil over it. 

Once your pan is hot and ready, arrange the meat skewers on the pan and cook them at moderate-high heat. 

Make sure you keep turning each skewer to make sure the meat is evenly cooked. 

grilling lamb on the skewers
lamb satay on griddle pan

You can do this on the barbecue when the weather permits.

Enjoy your lamb satay with the spicy peanut sauce and drizzle of sweet soy sauce. Serve it with pickled cucumber on the side. 

Ah, don’t forget a plate of hot plain white rice. So your dinner is sorted.

Secrets to making the best lamb satay

meat on the skewers with peanut sauce
  1. The real Sate Kambing (goat satay) in Indonesia doesn’t use many ingredients. The secret of mouthwatering satay lies in the quality of the meat itself. 

Not only the meat has to be fresh, but it also has to be the meat of a young goat so that it won’t be tough. 

  1. Another secret is, that Indonesians like to tenderize the meat before cooking by covering it with Papaya leaves.

Let me pause here.

Papaya leaf contains papain enzyme that helps soften the meat. And it is used widely in Indonesia as a means to tenderize the meat for satay. Because papaya leaves are easy to get and don’t cost a lot.

Here in the UK, there is no way I can get papaya leaves. But, I can get meat tenderizer powder that is made of papaya leaf. 

So essentially both are the same. 

You can get this meat tenderizer at Asian shops or on Amazon online. 

For this recipe, you will only need one teaspoon.

More recipes for a barbecue

Thank you for reading this lamb satay recipe. I hope you’re now wanting to try it.

When you do, it will be great if you could share what you think about it in the comments below. You can also share a picture of your creation if you want to. And tag me on Instagram or Pinterest @soyummyrecipesbydevy there.

And please follow me on Facebook, Instagram and/or Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen. 

Before you go, why don’t you check my other recipes for a barbecue that you may like?

Thank you and all the best.


skewers of lamb satay
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5 from 4 votes

Lamb Satay

Lamb satay is as delicious as goat satay. This recipe will show you how to make the best and easy satay like the real Indonesian Sate Kambing but using lamb.
Author: Devy Dar
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Additional Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 40 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Indonesian
Servings: 4

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls.
  • Food processor or
  • Pestle and mortar
  • Frying pan
  • Griddle pan or
  • Oven grill.

Ingredients

For the satay:

  • 21.16 ounces lamb meat cut in small cubes.
  • 1 teaspoon meat tenderizer see the note.
  • 1 onion.
  • 4 garlic.
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander.
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin powder.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves.
  • 2 tablespoons oil.

For the satay:

  • cup sweet soy sauce.
  • 3.53 ounces roasted salted peanuts see the note.
  • 1 onion roughly chopped.
  • 5 garlic cloves.
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • 1 teaspoon sugar.
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder preferably Kashmiri chilli powder.
  • 1 cup water.
  • ¼ cup sweet soy sauce.

For the pickle:

  • 3.53 ounces cucumber approximately 1/3, cut in small cubes.
  • 1 carrot cut in small cubes.
  • ¼ red onion chopped.
  • 2 bird’s eye chillies chopped.
  • ½ lime juiced.
  • ¼ teaspoon salt.
  • 1 teaspoon sugar.

Instructions

  • Put the meat in a mixing bowl and sprinkle over the meat tenderizer. Rub and mix until all meat pieces are covered with a meat tenderizer. Set aside.
  • In a food processor, put the onion, garlic, ground coriander, cumin, salt, and water. Give it a blitz until you get a smooth mixture. Or, you can use a pestle and mortar to pound to make the spice paste.
  • Heat the oil on a small frying pan, and fry the spice mixture and kaffir lime leaves until it’s cooked and smell fragrant. Set aside to cool slightly.
  • When the spice is cool, add it to the meat and mix it until all the meat pieces are covered with the spice mixture. Set aside to marinate for at least one hour.
  • In the meantime, you can make the sauce. Put the peanuts, onion, garlic, chilli, salt and water in a blender. Blitz until you get a grainy smooth peanut mixture.
  • Then cook the peanut mixture in a cooking pan until it’s boiling and simmering. The sauce will look shiny with a little oil on the side. 
  • To make the pickle, put the cucumber cubes, chopped carrot, onion, and chillies in a mixing bowl. Drizzle over the lime juice and sprinkle the salt and sugar. Taste it and add the sugar or salt accordingly. The pickle should taste refreshingly tangy, spicy, salty and a little bit sweet. Yummy.
  • When your meat is ready to grill, heat your griddle pan and drizzle a teaspoon of oil. Put the skewers of lamb on the pan and cook at moderate-high heat. Take care and keep turning the skewers every so often.
  • Once the satay is cooked, arrange on a plate and top it with the sauce and sweet soy sauce. Enjoy your lamb satay with the pickle on the side.

Notes

  • You can either cook the satay on a griddle pan, oven grill, or a barbecue. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 770kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 31g | Cholesterol: 146mg | Sodium: 2077mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 20g

Disclaimer

Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.

Author: Devy Dar

Title: Food Writer, Recipe Developer, and Digital Content Creator.

Bio:

Devy Dar founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appetit, and more. 

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5 Comments

  1. What is the best cut of lamb to use?

    1. We love the lamb shoulder as it has a good mix of fat and meat. Second option will be leg of lamb.

    2. We love the lamb shoulder as it has a good mix of fat and meat. Second option will be leg of lamb.

  2. In the picture, it looks like you’re adding ketchup manis to the spice mix while frying – but it’s not written anywhere. Is this a a magic, secret step that’s been missed out? 🙂

    1. Well spotted. No, I don’t do magic. It’s what you called a mistake :-)… Basically adding sweet soy sauce is optional. I will add this note in the recipe. Thank you for pointing it out to me.

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