To make the marinade, first, toast the coriander and fennel seeds over medium heat. Set aside and let cool. Once the spices have cooled, transfer them to a food processor and pulse, until roughly ground.

Next, roughly chop the shallots, garlic, ginger, young ginger (or galangal), serrano peppers and add to the food processor. Blend everything together.

Finely mince the lemongrass, chop the palm sugar and add them to the food processor, along with the salt, turmeric, oil, and water (or coconut milk). Blend until you achieve a nice, thick paste.

Note: For the Shallot Oil, we simply use the leftover oil from making these Fried Shallots.

Once done, divide the marinade in half and set aside.

For the tofu, cut into long strips. The final shape will ultimately depend on the original shape of your tofu. We tend to buy the blocks of tofu and then cut it down the middle widthwise and then cut each half into about 4 pieces. Note: If the blocks are a bit too long, we sometimes first cut about an inch of the bottom, so we end up with a satay that is approximately 4 inches by 1-inch.

Note: We also made this recipe using cubes of tofu but we preferred the strips. We also tried this recipe with tempeh but the tofu was the clear winner.

Next, rub each piece of tofu with the remaining marinade and then place it into a container. Be careful with the tofu as you don’t want to break the pieces as you handle them.

Allow the tofu to marinate for up to 4 hours but even better if you can leave it overnight. We have left the tofu to marinate for 3 days and the tofu was still delicious. It did not become watery. In fact, we thought it was even better as the marinade really had time to soak into the firm tofu.

Note that the satay sauce is optional. The leftover marinade can simply be frozen saved for another time. However, this deeply flavorful peanut sauce is very good with the satays. Also, note that a simple peanut sauce can be served with these as well.

To make the satay sauce, add the peanuts to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Next, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add the oil, followed by the reserved Malaysian Marinade from Step 1 — cook this mixture for a couple of minutes or until fragrant.

Next, add the chopped peanuts, coconut milk, tamarind, lime juice, sugar, and soy sauce. Bring this mixture to a gentle boil and then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until it has thickened slightly. If the mixture becomes too thick during cooking, add a bit of water to thin it down a bit.

Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly thickened, adding extra water if satay sauce becomes too thick. At this point, taste the sauce for seasoning,

Once ready, taste for seasoning adjusting the acidity, sweetness, saltiness, and/or spice as needed and then set aside while you cook the satays.

To cook the satays, thread the tofu onto the skewers prior to cooking.

Once done, set the skewers aside while you heat the grill. Heat the grill to medium-high and lightly grease with oil. Cook the satays on the first side until it starts to color nicely. Lightly brush the other side of the satay with a bit more oil and flip.

Alternatively, the satays can be cooked in a hot frypan — you just need to make sure you use enough oil and be careful that the marinade does not cause them to burn.

Serve the satays with the Satay Peanut Sauce (from above). These satays also go well with this Fragrant Coconut Rice.

This tofu is also good in wraps or used as a topping for salads or as part of a stir-fry.