Sate Lilit (Balinese Minced Fish Satay, 42g Protein)
Sate lilit is the satay Bali does differently. Instead of cubes of meat on a stick, a spiced minced fish paste is wrapped (lilit means wrapped) around a lemongrass stalk and grilled, and because the whole thing is fish and shrimp, three skewers give you 42g of protein for about 330 calories. No rice needed to make it a meal, though it is very good with rice.
The paste is white fish and shrimp pulsed with toasted coconut, sliced kaffir lime leaf and a fried spice base of shallot, chili, galangal, turmeric and candlenut. It tastes like the sea and like a warm spice rack at the same time. The lemongrass skewer is not just decoration either; it perfumes the paste from the inside as it heats.
This is one of the recipes I teach when people tell me they only know how to cook fish as a fillet. The paste is forgiving, it takes half an hour, and it works on a gas grill, under the broiler, or in an air fryer.
Why this works
The texture depends on two things: cold seafood and short pulses. Fish protein (myosin, if you want the name) forms a sticky, springy paste when it is chopped while cold, which is what makes the mixture cling to the skewer and hold together on the grill. Fifteen minutes in the freezer before processing does it. If you run the food processor continuously, the friction warms the fish, the paste goes pasty and grey, and the skewers slump. Ten to fifteen short pulses and a scrape down is all it takes.
Shrimp in the mix is not strictly traditional in every version, but it does two useful jobs. Shrimp is stickier than most white fish, so it helps bind without needing egg or starch, and it is one of the leanest proteins you can buy, which is why the numbers land where they do. The same logic is behind the sambal prawns on this site.
Fry the spice paste before it goes into the fish. Raw shallot and garlic in a quick grilled item never fully cook through, and raw turmeric tastes like dirt. Four minutes in a little oil, until the paste darkens and the oil comes back out at the edges, turns it into something rounded and savoury. Same principle as the paste in the Indonesian grilled sambal fish. Cool it before mixing so it does not start cooking the fish.
Ingredient notes
Fish: Spanish mackerel (tenggiri) is the classic and has the best flavour. Cod, mahi mahi, tilapia, haddock or any firm white fish works. Frozen fillets are fine and often easier to process because they are already cold. Avoid oily fish like salmon here; the paste goes greasy and the spice gets lost.
Candlenuts (kemiri) give the paste body. Macadamias are the closest substitute and raw cashews are fine too. Never eat candlenuts raw on their own; they need to be cooked, which the frying step takes care of.
Galangal is sharper and more citrusy than ginger. If you can get it frozen or fresh at an Asian grocer, use it. Ginger is an acceptable swap, not an identical one.
Kaffir lime leaves (makrut lime leaves) are not optional for this one, they are half the flavour. Strip out the tough centre rib and slice the leaf as thin as you can. They freeze well, so buy a bag.
Desiccated coconut needs to be unsweetened. The sweetened baking kind will burn on the grill and taste like a macaroon. Fresh grated coconut is more traditional if you can find it frozen.
Shrimp paste (terasi in Indonesia, belacan in Malaysia) is a teaspoon of deep savoury funk. Wrap it in foil and toast it in the dry pan for a minute before blending. Skip it if you cannot find it; the dish is still good, just a little less Balinese.
Lemongrass skewers: use the thick bottom half of the stalk, trimmed to about 6 inches, and bruise the end so it releases its oils. If you would rather use bamboo, soak the skewers for 30 minutes so they do not burn, and shape the paste a little thicker so it does not dry out.
Sate Lilit (Balinese Minced Fish Satay)
Ingredients
Method
- Pat the fish and shrimp very dry and put them in the freezer for 15 minutes while you make the spice paste. Cold seafood blends into a proper sticky paste. Warm seafood turns to mush.
- Blend the shallots, garlic, chilies, candlenuts, galangal, turmeric, coriander, white pepper and shrimp paste with 1 tbsp of water to a smooth paste. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small pan over medium heat and fry the paste for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until it darkens, smells cooked rather than raw, and the oil separates at the edges. Scrape into a bowl and cool completely.
- Toast the coconut in a dry pan over medium low heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes until light gold. Tip onto a plate to stop it cooking.
- Put the cold fish and shrimp in a food processor and pulse in short bursts, 10 to 15 times, scraping down once, until you have a coarse, sticky paste with no large chunks. Do not run the motor continuously.
- Add the cooled spice paste, toasted coconut, kaffir lime leaf, sugar, salt and lime juice. Pulse 5 or 6 more times until just combined. The mixture should be tacky and hold together when you squeeze a spoonful.
- Fry a teaspoon of the mixture in a small pan and taste it. Adjust salt or lime now, because you cannot fix it after the skewers are shaped.
- Wet your hands. Take about 1/4 cup (75g) of mixture, flatten it in your palm, lay a lemongrass stalk or skewer on it and squeeze the paste around it into an oval about 4 inches long and 1.25 inches thick, leaving a handle at one end. Repeat to make 12. Chill the shaped skewers for 15 minutes if you have time; they hold their shape better.
- Grill: heat a grill or grill pan to medium high and oil the grates well. Brush the skewers with oil and grill for 10 to 12 minutes, turning every 3 minutes, until deeply golden with charred spots and firm to the touch. Broiler: place on an oiled rack over a tray, 4 inches from a high broiler, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Air fryer: 390F / 200C for 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway, in a single layer.
- Rest for 2 minutes and serve with lime wedges and, if you have it, sambal matah (thinly sliced shallots, chili, lemongrass and lime with a spoon of hot oil poured over).
Tips and storage
The raw paste keeps overnight in the fridge, covered, and I think it is slightly better the next day once the lime leaf has had time to work through it. Shaped raw skewers freeze well on a tray, then in a bag, for a month. Cook them from frozen under the broiler or in the air fryer, adding about 4 minutes.
Cooked skewers keep 3 days in the fridge and reheat in the air fryer at 350F for 4 minutes, or in a covered pan with a splash of water. The microwave makes them rubbery. For lunch boxes, slide the paste off the lemongrass and pack it over rice with a spoon of sambal.
If the paste is too soft to shape (some fish holds more water than others), pulse in a tablespoon of rice flour or cornstarch. If it feels dense and tight, a tablespoon of coconut milk loosens it.
Sambal matah on the side takes five minutes and turns this into a proper Balinese plate: slice 3 shallots, 2 red chilies and the tender part of a lemongrass stalk very thin, add the juice of half a lime and a pinch of salt, then pour a tablespoon of smoking hot oil over the top. If you want a second Indonesian fish dish that uses the same spice paste logic in a steamed format, the pepes ikan is the one.
