This Vegetarian Satay is my own invention. Recently, I have been going on vegetarian fasts and was feeling frustrated that there were limited vege alternatives to our traditional dishes here. Some days, I found myself craving for nasi lemak, nasi goreng and chicken satay and used to get moody that I had to eat only vegetables all the time. I am sure there are plenty of vegetarian options and nice meals but I am probably not aware of many except for the Indian dishes. So during my fasting period, I started inventing my own vegetarian version of traditional Singaporean dishes. One of which is this satay. I do have a few others in my bag which I will be posting on soon. 
Vegetarian Satay
Ingredients:
- For the satay
- Quorn brand mince - 300 gm
- Shallots (Small red onions) - 1, quartered
- Serai (Lemongrass) - 1, sliced thinly (white part only)
- Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp
- Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
- Cumin Powder - 2 tsp
- Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
- Ketcap Manis (Sweet soy sauce) - 3 tsp
- Corn Flour - 1 tbsp
- Plain Flour - 2 tbsp
- Egg yolk - 1, beaten well
- Salt - 1 tsp
- For the peanut sauce
- Dried Chillies - 4, cut into halves and deseeded
- Roasted peanuts - 100 gm
- Serai (Lemongrass) - 1, chopped (white parts only)
- Shallots (Small red onions) - 1, quartered
- Salt - 1/4 tsp
- Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar) - 1 tsp
- Ketcap Manis (Sweet soy sauce) - 2 tbsp
Instructions:
For the Vegetarian Satay
- Grind the shallots and serai with little water in a blender to form a smooth paste.
- Add the paste and all other ingredients to the Quorn mince. You should get a nice mixture firm enough to be shaped into miniature balls.
- Leave the mixture in fridge overnight for the flavours to infuse through the mince.
- Following day, shape the mixture into small fishball size balls and thread them into the bamboo skewers. Good to soak the bamboo skewers for 2 hours before threading the mince balls. This is to prevent the skewers from burning during the grilling process.
- Grill the satay on bbq or on a griddle till fully cooked.
- Vegetarian Satay ready to be relished! :-)
For the Peanut Sauce
- Soak the dried chillies in hot water for 5 minutes and grind them together with the shallot and serai to make a smooth paste. Be careful as you do not want a watery mixture.
- Rinse the blender and blend the roasted peanuts with little water.
- Switch on the stove and heat a frying pan with oil.
- Once oil starts spluttering, add the chilli mixture and let it simmer on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Once you see the oil surfacing, add the ground peanut mixture in.
- Add salt, gula melaka and ketcap manis and give it two stirs.
- Let the sauce cook for 5 minutes and check for the balance in taste. Add more ketcap manis if you would like a sweeter taste.
- Peanut sauce ready to be served with the satay. Additionally, you can serve it with rice cakes and spanish onions which is how it is served in Singapore. :-)