Bali is the home of some amazing Indonesian cuisine (and the only place where it is positively easy to get pork). Satay is popular all over the world, and people surely have their favorite type. The first time I had satay in Asia was on a trip to Malaysia a few years ago. However this Bali Sate Lilit is the specialty of Bali Island in Indonesia, and is made a bit different than what you might expect.

Most satay is simply pieces of meat stuck through with a wooden skewer and then grilled over an open flame. They can be served with a variety of sauces such as peanut dipping sauce, sambal, Thai chili and more. In fact, the idea of grilling meat on sticks is not even from Asia at all. It was probably the first way man learned to cook back in caveman times.

I even made my own Cashew Butter Satay Sauce which goes great on grilled meats. This recipe for Bali Sate Lilit was taught to me during my awesome Bali Farm Cooking Class I booked while I was staying in Ubud along with 6 other recipes. You can find links to all the authentic Balinese recipes below.

Bali Sate Lilit Ingredients (1 px)

60 grams Pork; ground. You can also substitute for chicken, shrimp, lamb, or tuna.
1/2 cup Coconut; freshly grated. If you can’t freshly grate your own coconut, packaged grated coconut will work fine. You can order some on Amazon here. If you are using dried coconut, add 2 tbsp of Coconut Milk for moisture.
1 tbsp Bumbu Bali. This is a popular Balinese spice mix that is necessary for Bali Sate Lilit. If you can’t find it at your ethnic grocery store, you can make it using this Bumbu Bali Recipe.
1/2 tsp Brown Sugar
1/1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 Kaffir Lime Leaf; freshly chopped. If you can’t find Kaffir lime leaves you can substitute for two fresh Bay leaves
1 tsp Kaffir Lime Juice. If you can’t find Kaffir limes at all, you can use regular limes juice.

Bali Sate Lilit Instructions

Put all the ingredients in a big stainless steel bowl. Mix everything together until sticky.
Divide the mixture into 6 ping pong sized meatballs.
Take one meatball and one satay stick. Wrap and twist the mixture from the top down. Repeat for all the meatballs.
Heat oil on a flat pan (or use a flame grill for more authenticity) and grill/fry until lightly browned. The meat is actually just a thin layer around the sticks so once the outside is lightly browned the inside is most definitely cooked. Bali Satay Lilit is ready to be served.

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Bali Sate Lilit (Satay)

A classic Balinese satay dish bursting with tons of great flavor. Easy to make, and fun as well.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3

Blending Bumbu Bali (if you don’t store buy it) 2

Total Time 15

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Balinese, Indonesian

Servings 6 skewers

Calories

Equipment

Satay Skewers

Ingredients

60 grams Pork ground
1/2 cup Coconut freshly grated. You can use pre-grated or dried coconut, just add two tbsp of coconut milk for moisture.
1 tbsp Bumbu Bali aka Base Gede
1/2 tsp Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 Kaffir Lime Leaf freshly chopped. Or 2 fresh Bay leaves can substitute
1 tsp Kaffir Lime Juice

Instructions

Put all the ingredients in a large stainless steel bowl. Mix everything well until sticky.
Divide the mixture into 6 ping pong ball sized meatballs.
Take one meatball and 1 satay stick. Wrap and twist the meat from the top down. Repeat for all meatballs.
Heat some oil on a pan (or use a grill to be more authentic) and cook the skewers until lightly browned on the outside.

Notes

As the meat wrapped around the skewer is quite thin, you do not need to cook these for very long. Once the outside is browned the entire skewer is fully cooked and should be removed from the heat.

Keyword Asian Food, Bali Sate Lilit, Satay