if you are living in Singapore, you’ve probably started to feel the festive buzz of NDP season in the air. with Singapore flags flying high all around and National Day songs playing on loop, it’s hard not to get swept up in the excitement!
for those who have no idea what NDP is, it stands for National Day Parade—a one-night event, where we get to celebrate Singapore’s birthday, nd this year’s a big one: we’re turning 60! like it or not, the entire nation comes together to celebrate, and it’s always a huge deal.
around this time of year, conversations often revolve around one hot topic:
“did you ballot of NDP this year?”
“did you manage to get tickets for NDP”
“do you have free tickets to NDP by any chance?”
i’m not sure about you, but it has been a dream of mine to watch the parade live on the Padang. Even my Thai teacher gets the hype. sadly, none of our team members were lucky enough to get NDP tickets (does anyone know the trick on how to get lucky with these??), so I decided to take matters into my own hands and throw a little picnic by the barrage instead!
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although i wasn’t able to fulfil her wish of attending NDP this year, but i do hope that we were able to create some fond memories through the picnic ❤️
Chicken and Beef Satay
(serves 3-4)
500g beef/chicken (sliced thinly)
soaked bamboo skewers
3 tbsp white sugar
spice blend:
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
rempah base:
thumb-sized piece of galangal
thumb-sized piece of ginger
5 stalks of lemongrass
4-5 red chilies
handful dried red chilies (spicier option)
4 red onions
6-8 cloves of garlic
peanut sauce:
1 cup of ground peanuts (can toast and grind them to your desired fineness or buy preground)
3 tbsp oil
1/4 cup tamarind juice (assam Jawa)
1/2 cup chili boh (or blended soaked dried chilies)
1/4 cup of palm sugar
2-3 tablespoons of spice blend
salt or msg, to taste
directions
start by toasting the dried spices, individually, till fragrant. then blend the spices separately and set aside
blend the grounded spices to a 2:1:1 ratio - 2 parts corriander, 1 part cumin and 1 part fennel
next, make the rempah base. blend all rempah ingredients in a blender, and add a splash of water. divide the blend into 2 equal parts (bowls)
to marinate the satay, combine one rempah mixture with half of spice blend. add in sugar, a pinch of salt and MSG. mix in the sliced meat and allow it to marinate for min 1 hour.
for the peanut sauce, heat up a pan and add in oil. fry the remaining rempah base until it becomes fragrant and pecah minyak, about 15-20 minutes. Then, add in the remaining ingredients, with peanuts going last, and 1-2 cups water. simmer till mixture thickens, about 30 minutes.
skewer the meat on the pre soaked bamboo skewers and start your charcoal/frying pan. grill your skewers on a hot grill but make sure to flip constantly.
serve the satay with peanut sauce and a side of onions, ketupat and cucumbers
if you are looking for more iconic Singaporean dishes to cook for NDP, check out the following recipes:
Chicken Rice For the Soul
it’s the national dish of Singapore, but how many of us know how to cook it, really? The Pantry Boy teaches us how to make chicken rice from scratch, and even lets us in on his (now-not-so-secret-because-we’re-sharing-it-here) chili sauce recipe 🥵
Happy Birthday, Singapore! here's a different way you can have your Chilli Crab (and eat it too)
Singapore is a year short of being 60 and we’re pretty sure there’s no better way to celebrate this long weekend that staying home (away from the Marina Bay crowds…) and making the MOST Singaporean dish EVER - Chilli Crab!
so excited to try my hand at homemade satay! do you have recs for other uses of this spice blend?