Sate Padang

Marvellina’s selected sate Padang makes skewers of ox tongue with a thick aromatic gravy. She recalls eating this West Sumatran street food from a pushcart and develops her home version from a friend’s recipe.

The tongue is briefly boiled and its cooking liquid saved. A ground paste of dried red chilies, selected fresh turmeric, ginger, shallots, garlic and toasted candlenuts fries in oil before curry powder, whole spices, roots and fragrant leaves join it.

The tongue and its saved cooking liquid enter that aromatic pot for a covered simmer. After resting in the broth, the tongue is removed, the herbs and spices discarded, and the broth strained and cooled.

Tongue pieces are threaded onto soaked bamboo skewers, brushed with oil and grilled until lightly browned. Separately, some of the cooled broth mixes with rice flour; the mixture returns gradually to the pot while it thickens.

Lontong and the skewers share a plate beneath the thickened sauce, with fried shallots on top. Marvellina also describes fried beef skin as an optional accompanying addition.