What is there not to love about satay? We are not sure about you, but we love satay. Even our international friends love satay. A plate of 20 to 50 sticks of satay are a must-order each time a group of friends head out to a hawker centre to have a meal; and a bag of uncooked marinated satay is usually one of the main staples of a barbecue session.

Essentially small cuts of meat speared through a bamboo skewer, satay choices include chicken, mutton, or beef. These small cuts of meat are then marinated in various spices which also work to tenderise the meat, and produce the meat’s signature sweet-spicy flavour. Spices include galangal and finely cut dashes of the limau purut leaf, while the mandatory peanut sauce is made up of ground peanuts, oil, sweet sauce and a hint of chilli at times.

These skewered meat sticks are then barbecued over charcoal and constantly brushed with oil for the final smoky, savoury finish and tantalising glaze – often resulting in an irresistible urge for multiple helpings. The sticks of grilled meat are then served with a bowl of peanut dip (sometimes mildly spicy), bits of onions and cucumber as well as ketupat, pressed rice cakes wrapped in woven leaf packets.

The history of satay traces back to the Arabs, who were known to skewer their meat on swords and roast it over open fire. The Middle Eastern nomads would string meat through metal skewers to produce kebabs or sharwarma. Kebabs can still be found in Middle-Eastern restaurants in Singapore today, especially at Arab Street. This method of cooking and serving meats gained popularity in Southeast Asia through the spice trade, as Arab traders shared their culinary culture to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and also to Northern India and China.

The streets of Singapore in the 1970s were once filled with satay hawkers. Commonly sighted was the satay peddler with his portable charcoal grill; this group of peddlers eventually made up The Satay Club, a collection of such mobile stalls hawking only satays in the evenings. The Satay Club once stood at the edge of the park at the Esplanade, and began the tradition of eating satay out in the open under the stars.

Singapore’s multi-cultural society has spun off its different variations of satay. The Chinese have introduced pork satay in addition to the other three meats. The Peranakan version features a dash of pineapple puree mixed in with the peanut sauce. The Malays, Indians and Chinese use marinates that are unique to their culture too.