How to Grill Chicken Sates

METHOD: Direct grilling

The saté burst on the dining scene in the United States in the 1980s with the opening of the first American Thai restaurants. It was love at first bite. We loved the explosive flavors of these tiny kebabs so much, we recrafted them in the American fashion. In this land of blast-furnace-size barbecue grills, the saté has grown to the size of a small shish kebab. But bigger doesn’t always mean better, and I, for one, prefer the delicacy of the traditional Lilliputian saté from the Far East. Here is an authentic Thai chicken saté—rich with coconut milk and explosively seasoned with spices and chile. Sometimes, in order to win big you’ve got to think small.