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Overhead of Balinese sate lilit, grilled minced fish satay on lemongrass stalks and bamboo skewers on a dark ceramic plate with sambal matah and lime, on a dark slate surface

Sate Lilit (Balinese Minced Fish Satay)

Balinese satay made from a paste of white fish and shrimp, toasted coconut, kaffir lime leaf and a fresh shallot, chili and turmeric spice paste, wrapped around lemongrass stalks or bamboo skewers and grilled, broiled or air fried. 42g of protein per serving of about 3 skewers.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 42 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 330
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 lb skinless white fish fillets 680g; Spanish mackerel, cod, mahi mahi or tilapia, bones removed, cut into chunks
  • 8 oz raw shrimp 225g, peeled and deveined
  • 4 shallots about 80g, roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 3 red chilies Fresno or long red chilies, seeds removed for less heat
  • 3 candlenuts or macadamia nuts or 5 raw cashews
  • 1 inch galangal peeled and sliced, or use ginger
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric or 1 inch fresh turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp shrimp paste (terasi or belacan) optional, toasted in foil for 1 minute
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil for frying the spice paste
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut 45g, toasted in a dry pan until light gold
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves centre rib removed, sliced hair thin
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
  • 1.25 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 12 lemongrass stalks or bamboo skewers trimmed to 6 inches; soak bamboo skewers for 30 minutes
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil for brushing

Method
 

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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).