• One belief is that the term “Satay” came from the Tamil word catai, which means meat. It is believed that the Arabian or Indian Muslims introduced the recipe for cooking satay into Singapore, and the Portuguese introduced the sauce into Singapore from India. The meat skewers are usually consumed together with cooked compressed rice, which is a local Malay dish. The three items come together to form the delicious dish known as Satay, and the multi-cultural characteristics of this dish showcase the uniqueness of food culture in Singapore.

烤肉串 (Mainland China)

• The Hokkien (Minnan) phrase for “three pieces” sounds like the pronunciation for Satay, hence some people believe that the name originated from Hokkien. However, as Satay is not originally a Chinese dish, it is quite unlikely that the word was coined from Hokkien.