Satay (not the same as satay tea, which has peanuts but not satay) is a famous dish from Java, Indonesia, and is very popular in Southeast Asia. On the east coast of Malaysia, satay is served for breakfast; however, it is served as dinner in other parts of Malaysia.

The ingredients of satay vary from place to place, but it often contains a lot of spices such as yellow ginger powder, pepper, star anise and so on. Satay dishes always have slices of meat and are grilled on banana or coconut leaves. (Currently, Malaysian satay is grilled directly on the grill, so to speak, "with fire", and not with leaves or the like.)

Rumor has it that satay was invented by the local Chinese, who sold the grilled meat on the street, known as sanyu (i.e. Xiamenese: satay). Another theory is that it was invented by Malays who were influenced by Arabian barbecue. The third theory is that after the Arab immigrants brought in, it was improved by the Chinese to pork and chicken.