Goat Sate is da bomb! Oops, can't say "bomb" in Bali- Tue 12/23/08

Dear Interested Parties,

I realize that for a guy training to be a chef, I don't talk about food all that much. There has been no shortage of things to write about but I still figure I should give the subject of food some more attention. So, here is something I wrote about one of my favorite things to eat here:

A word or two about goat sate. I love goat sate! Goat sate has nearly everything good about food wrapped up in a tidy little package. First of all, it is on a stick. To quote 'Superbad', "you know what kinds of foods come on sticks? The best kinds!!!!" (except for green peppers on shish-kebobs. Get real!). Second, it is grilled over coconut husk coals, a process that gives it that special cancerous quality that makes everything grilled taste better than if it hadn't been grilled. Third, here in Bali, it costs about $1.25 for ten skewers and if you go to the right place, it could be the best $1.25 you have ever eaten. Ok, sure price doesn't directly correlate to taste but I thought I'd throw it in for good measure. The first two points are undeniable. I refer those of you non-vegetarians who beg to differ to a few case studies. 1) Spit roasted suckling pig. 2)Flash grilled shrimp or lobster kebabs 3)Corn dogs (corn gods for the dyslexic) 4) Goat Sate!! If you haven't tried it you need to...now.

I think goat is an underrated meat. Its magic, and perhaps its downfall, is that it has character, unlike chicken which is like Saturday morning cartoons; really good but eventually you outgrow them. I don't think it can be called gamy but it does have a depth and richness that makes each bite just a little more rewarding than most meats. It isn't as easy to love as lamb but once you convert, bite for bite, it is one of the more satisfying meats out there.

The place I was introduced to goat sate is in Denpasar. It is just a hole in the wall, like all the others, but with a line to get in. They not only prepare the goat perfectly and have a world class sauce, they also throw in a surprise on each skewer. Some skewers have a healthy chunk of goat fat thrown in, while others hide a piece of liver.

The secret is in the sauce and the fire. The sauce can be very simple. Just combine Kecap Manis(sweet soy) with some fried peanuts ground to a paste. Throw a few thinly sliced shallots in and you have a lovely accompaniment. You could get more involved too. A very nice recipe calls for combining fried shallots, garlic, garlic butter, sweet red chili, sliced kaffir leaf, sweet soy, stock (you choose), shrimp paste, and peanut paste. Reduce by half and add some crushed fried peanuts and you are there. I don't think that the coconut husk coals are a must but you do need to have a blazing hot fire and some tin foil under the skewer handles so they don't burn off. (The sate grills here are long, narrow and shallow and the husk coals require continual fanning to reach the necessary heat)

The other day in the restaurant, we were making the chicken sate skewers for the day and I learned something interesting. I asked if we were supposed to put four or five chunks of meat on each skewer. The chef replied that no, three was the only number of chunks that anyone in Bali would ever put on a sate skewer. Four or five would be extremely unlucky. The reason three is standard is that the chunks symbolize the three godheads, Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. And here I thought we were just eating some tasty meat. Now that I think of it though, sate has been playing a major role in creating, sustaining, and, if I eat enough, quenching my hunger. It has even, at rare times, approached the level of a religious experience.

I looked into this a little further. Turns out that you will never find more than three pieces of meat on a sate stick in all of Indonesia (there goes the Hinduism argument), and I read that the same is true in China. According to one source, the word 'satay' means three(san), piece(tay). This seems like strong evidence that it originated there but who knows (I looked up the words for 'three' and 'piece' and got different words. Anyone out there speak Chinese?)? The only reason I care so much is that if there was more meat on each skewer, it would be a more filling experience. Can't mess with tradition though.

I can't understand why there aren't goat sate stalls on the streets of New York City. Why does Sabrett have a near monopoly on street food? I say we ship over some Indonesian sate cooks, hack up a few goats, and elevate everyone's idea of how good simple food can be.

Cheers,
Alex