Pork Satay Bali Style, Sate Babi

Pork Satay. Bali-style Pork Satay, Sate Babi. Welcome to another International YouTube collab. Each month, a group of International YouTube chefs picks a country and prepares dishes from it. This month, we are in Bali, #TasteOfBali.

Bali is an island in Indonesia.  It is between the island of Java to the west and the island of Lombok to the east.  Bali is on the Indian Ocean to the south and the Bali Sea to the north.

Bali, often called the “Island of the Gods,” is a world-renowned Indonesian island. It is famous for its natural beauty. It is also known for its spiritual culture and welcoming people. My entry into #TasteOfBali is Bali-style pork satay, known as Sate Babi.

It is a flavorful Indonesian dish. Unlike many other Indonesian satays, which are commonly made with chicken or beef, the Hindu-majority island of Bali uses pork. This makes it a local specialty.

This is an easy version of Balinese Sate Babi. A simple marinade of sweet soy sauce, lime juice, and common spices like coriander and cumin yields a flavorful result. It achieves this without complex spice pastes. This shortcut skips the more involved traditional spice grinding while retaining the essential sweet and savory Balinese flavors.

For an easy Bali-style pork satay, the key is a simple marinade. It should be flavorful and made with chili’s. Add fresh aromatics and spices. Using ground spices instead of fresh ones simplifies the prep.

🍢 Sate Babi: Indonesian Pork Satay

Sate Babi is a popular Indonesian dish. It consists of marinated, skewered, and grilled pork. It’s a type of sate (satay).

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Key Characteristics of Pork Satay

• Pork: Many Indonesian satays are commonly made with chicken, beef, or goat because of the country’s majority Muslim population. However, sate babi uses pork. It is especially popular in regions with significant non-Muslim populations, such as Bali.
• Flavor Profile: The pork is typically marinated in a rich, flavorful mixture. This results in a taste that is savory, sweet, and aromatic.
• Cooking Method: Cut the meat into bite-sized cubes. It is threaded onto bamboo skewers and grilled over charcoal. The meat is often basted with the marinade or a sweet soy glaze (kecap manis). This creates a slightly charred, caramelized finish.

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Common Ingredients: Pork Satay

The marinade and preparation can vary between regions (like the spicier Balinese version versus the Chinese-Indonesian style), but common ingredients include:

• Pork: Often shoulder or neck, sometimes including pieces of fat for juiciness.
• Kecap Manis: Indonesian sweet soy sauce, a key ingredient for sweetness and color.
• Spices & Aromatics: Garlic, shallots, coriander, cumin, turmeric, galangal, sometimes lemongrass or ginger.
• Sweetener: Palm sugar
• Acid: Lime or lemon juice, and sometimes tamarind.

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Serving Pork Satay – Sate Babi is often served with sides like:

• Rice
• Pickled vegetables (cucumber and carrot).
• Peanut Sauce (usually it is not served with sate babi in the traditional way. However, it is a common addition with chicken satay).

Pork Satay Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

For the Marinade:

• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp pepper
• Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp lemongrass paste
• 8 medium cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 small shallots, sliced
• 3 whole dried pasilla or guajillo chilies, seeded, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp palm sugar 
• Juice of 1 lime

For the Glaze:

• 1 cup kecap manis
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/4 cup palm sugar, plus more if needed
• 2 tbsp ginger, roughly chopped
• 4 medium cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

Pork Satay Directions

1. Soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes before using.
2. Make the Marinade: In a large bowl, whisk together turmeric, coriander, and cumin. Add salt & pepper, lemongrass paste, and garlic. Include shallots, chilies, palm sugar, and lime juice.
3. Divide the mixture into thirds.
4. Marinate the pork. Add the cubed pork and one-third of the spice paste to the marinade. Mix with your hands until all of the pork is coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 hours, for the flavors to meld.

While the pork marinates, make the Glaze:

1. Start by combining kecap manis, fish sauce, and sugar in a small saucepan. Then, add ginger and garlic.
2. Cook until the glaze is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in one-third of the spice paste and adjust the seasoning with more sugar as necessary. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, using the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.
3. Make the peanut dipping sauce (See Below)
4. Thread pork onto bamboo skewers. Repeat until each skewer has about 6 inches of pork threaded onto it. Pork should be pushed together quite tightly
5. Keep pork skewers refrigerated until ready to cook.
6. Cook the satay. Grill the pork skewers for 8–10 minutes, turning every 2–3 minutes, until the pork is cooked through and lightly charred. For added flavor, you can brush on a little extra as a glaze during the last minute of cooking.
7. Return to the hot side of the grill. Cook, turning, just until the glaze starts to bubble. It should get sticky in about 45 seconds.
8. Brush pork with another layer of glaze just before serving. Serve with peanut sauce on the side or spoon it on top.
9. Serve. Let the satay rest for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy with steamed rice, fresh lime wedges, and a simple peanut sauce if desired.

Note: Kecap manis is a sweet Indonesian soy sauce that can be found in most Asian markets.

Peanut Dipping Sauce for Pork Satay

You need roasted peanuts or peanut butter to create a traditional Indonesian-style peanut sauce for pork satay. Season it with Kecap manis, tamarind, and other aromatic ingredients. The sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy sauce balances the smoky, grilled pork.

Peanut Dipping Sauce Ingredients

• 1 tsp peanut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp chili paste
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 3 tbsp kecap manis
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• ½ cup hot water (plus more for thinning)
• juice of 1 small lime
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• Chopped peanuts as garnish

Peanut Dipping Sauce Instructions

1. Heat the peanut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the minced garlic and chili paste (or fresh chilies), then Sauté for about a minute, until fragrant.
3. Add the peanut butter, coconut milk, kecap manis, and tamarind to the saucepan.
4. Stir the mixture until it is well blended.
5. Add ½ cup of hot water, lime juice, and palm sugar.
6. Continue to simmer the sauce over low heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
7. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings if needed.
8. Serve warm as a dipping sauce for your grilled pork satay.
9. Garnish: Top the finished sauce with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts or a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

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If you like this recipe, Pork Satay Sate Babi, you will also enjoy trying another one. It is our recipe for making the best Holiday Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing.

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Bali-style Pork Satay, Sate Babi