Sate Ajam

The other evening we had quite the wild and crazy BBQ in the lovely backyard garden of our friend Brian. On the menu was green salad, pasta salad, potato salad, meat, tiramisu and lots and lots of booze.

Everyone really enjoyed the tasty chicken satay, or sate ajam that Bas prepared with the help of his Indonesian-Dutch friend. Following are the ingredients for the marinade:

100 ml sunflower oil
100 ml ketjap manis
3 cloves crushed or chopped garlic
lime juice from one lime
1 tablespoon koenjit (turmeric)
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper

Cut up about 4 large chicken breasts or thighs and marinate in the mixture for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Thread onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers and grill until done. Yum!

The salads and the tiramisu were also scrumptious. We wish we could have a BBQ every day!

Chicken Skewers

We recently got together for a little BBQ in Vondelpark to celebrate the American holiday 4th of July. Our lovely friend Leslie kindly supplied the BBQ, and what a cool contraption it was! She arrived on her bicycle with the metal BBQ broken down flat in her front basket. The pieces joined together for a nice sized cooking surface. We added the coal and fired it up!

We miss you Lena, Kevin and Leslie! Come back to Amsterdam!

Leslie also brought some chicken pieces coated in spices which we threaded on long metal skewers with slices of red bell pepper. While the skewers were grilling, Leslie sprinkled some lemon juice over the top. That chicken was super tasty!

We asked Leslie for her secret spice mix and she revealed it was McCormick Cajun Seasoning from Costco back in the USA. The mix contains garlic, black pepper, chili pepper, salt, onion, paprika, and oregano. We're going to visit De Volkskruidentuin on Kinkerstraat to see if they might have something similar.

There's nothing like a BBQ in the park on a sunny day! Do you have a secret spice mix you use on your meats that you could share with us? Leave a comment!