What is "satay"

1934, from Malay or Javanese satai.

n. A popular dish made from small pieces of meat or fish grilled on a skewer and served with a spicy peanut sauce, originating from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Satay (, ), modern Indonesian and Malay spelling of sate, is a dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. Satay may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; the more authentic version uses skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond, although bamboo skewers are often used. These are grilled or barbecued over a wood or charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasonings.

Satay originated in Java, Indonesia. It is available almost anywhere in Indonesia, where it has become a national dish. It is also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, East Timor as well as in Suriname and the Netherlands, as Indonesia and Suriname are former Dutch colonies.

Satay is a very popular delicacy in Indonesia; the country's diverse ethnic groups' culinary arts (see Indonesian cuisine) have produced a wide variety of satays. In Indonesia, satay can be obtained from a travelling satay vendor, from a street-side tent- restaurant, in an upper-class restaurant, or during traditional celebration feasts. In Malaysia, satay is a popular dish—especially during celebrations—and can be found throughout the country. In Southern Philippines it is known as satti.

Close analogues are yakitori from Japan, shish kebab from Turkey and the Middle East, shashlik from the Caucasus, chuanr from China, and sosatie from South Africa. It is listed at number 14 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll complied by CNN Go in 2011.