SATE SOTONG WITH SAMBAL KECAP

This recipe is from the newest cookbook I bought, which is called "Street Food of the World". In Europe it is not so traditional to find street stalls where sell ready-made food, unless it is some celebration or festival or maybe some market, although before we had the 'churrerías', the chestnut sellers, etc., but, especially on the Asian continent, it is very normal to find street stalls where you can find food made every day of the year. This is one of the dishes that I made yesterday as a starter, Sate Sotong with Sambal Kecap, which are skewers made with marinated squid and a sweet soy sauce (kecap manis). It is an Indonesian and Malaysian recipe. I used baby squid, but if you use bigger squid, you will need to adjust the cooking time depending on the thickness of the squid.

Ingredients
500g squid, cleaned
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
25g grated ginger
juice of 1 lime
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
lime wedges, to serve

Sambal Kecap sauce
5 Tbsp kecap manis
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
4 bird's eye chillies, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 shallot, very finely chopped
zest & juice of 1 lime

Method

Give the squid a really good rinse in cold running water, inside and out. Cut into 2cm rings and place all the pieces in a large bowl.
Mix the ground spices with the rest of the ingredients, except the lime wedges, and pour over the squid, stirring thoroughly until well coated. Set aside to marinate at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.

For the sambal kecup, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.

When you are ready to cook, fire up the barbecue to get it really hot. You can also cook over a really hot griddle pan. Thread the squid on to skewers. 

Cook for 2 minutes each side until slightly charred.

 Eat immediately with the sauce drizzled over or alongside for dipping, and the lime wedges for squeezing.

Makes 4 large or 8 smaller kebabs