Chicken satay bites feed crowds quickly, easily
By J.M. Hirsch
Do batches of bites for your guests.
Offering easy party nibbles can sometimes boil down to buying a platter of shrimp and cocktail sauce at the grocer.
But there are ways to offer something a touch more creative and unexpected — without sacrificing the easy part.
These chicken satay bites are the perfect answer. They come together with almost no effort, are easily customized, and even can be done in batches to allow you to replenish the offering.
The method is a bit unusual, as it combines braising and broiling. A flavorful broth is brought to a simmer in a large, oven-safe skillet. Chunks of raw chicken breast then are added and the whole thing is set under the broiler.
In just a few carefree minutes, the chicken is deliciously seasoned and browned, but not dried out (thanks to the broth).
The chicken chunks then can be simply skewered with toothpicks and placed on a platter drizzled with jarred peanut sauce, or topped with slivers of sun-dried tomatoes, small pieces of cheese or olives.
If you plan to make several batches, or cook only a portion of a batch at a time, simply reuse the same broth. Just be sure to bring it to a full simmer each time before adding the chicken.
CHICKEN SATAY BITES
1 quart chicken broth
1‚Ñ2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1‚Ñ2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1‚Ñ2 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
Bottled peanut dipping sauce
40 bocconcini (small balls of mozzarella)
20 oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, cut into strips
40 short bamboo skewers or toothpicks
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Heat the broiler. Place a rack in the center of the oven.
In a large, deep oven-safe skillet, whisk together the broth, cumin, garlic powder, white pepper, ginger, paprika, soy sauce and sesame oil. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken and stir to arrange them in an even layer in the broth mixture. The tops of the chicken pieces should just barely stick out of the liquid; this allows the chicken to brown.
Place the skillet under the broiler. After 5 minutes, stir, then broil for another 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Pool or drizzle the peanut sauce on a serving platter. To assemble the skewers, top each piece of chicken with a strip of sun-dried tomato and 1 ball of mozzarella. Skewer each stack, then arrange them on the serving platter.
Sprinkle the skewers with black pepper and chopped cilantro.
Servings: 40
Nutrition information per skewer (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 121 calories; 59 calories from fat; 7 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 40 mg cholesterol; 0 g carbohydrate; 13 g protein; 0 g fiber; 140 mg sodium.