Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
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Perfectly grilled chicken satay skewers in the most flavorful marinade. Served with THE BEST creamy peanut sauce ever!!!
I’m going to be completely honest with you guys.
These chicken satay skewers could taste like shoe leather. And if they did, that would be okay. Because this peanut-lime sauce will make anything and everything taste so much better.
But don’t worry. It absolutely does not taste like shoe leather. Promise.
Instead, it’s the most perfectly grilled, golden-brown chicken bites with just the right amount of charred, smoky goodness. The marinade takes the chicken to the next level of flavor town with the help of a simple coconut milk marinade and some pantry spices.
And I know I say this all the time, but really, this creamy, zesty peanut-lime sauce is the best peanut sauce of your lives. SO SO SO good.
Tools For This Recipe
Metal skewers or wooden skewers
Cast iron grill pan or large cast iron skillet
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce: Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! But because ground ginger is often more potent/concentrated than freshly grated ginger, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger to 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger.
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken when thrown on the grill.
Metal skewers are sturdy and reusable but note that they will retain heat so please be careful when serving. Wooden skewers can also be used but can burn over a hot grill. I recommend soaking them overnight in water (or at least 30 minutes) prior to using.
No grill, no problem. A cast iron grill pan or a large cast iron skillet will work beautifully here, especially during those winter month when it’s too cold to grill out!
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 ½ teaspoons yellow curry powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the peanut sauce
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, or more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine coconut milk, soy sauce, curry powder, turmeric, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and fish sauce.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken and coconut milk mixture; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally.
- Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers. Brush with canola oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add skewers to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 12-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately with peanut sauce.
For the peanut sauce
- Whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, chili garlic sauce and ginger in a small bowl. Whisk in 2-3 tablespoons water until desired consistency is reached.
Video
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Loved the marinade, but modified the sauce with organic crunchy peanut butter, cilantro, sesame seed oil, lime juice fresh, soya sauce, brown sugar and chilli sauce.
Tastiest home made satay sauce I have ever had. The only change I made was sweet chilli sauce instead of chilli garlic sauce as I didn’t have the latter.
Great recipe. I made it with tofu. It was fantastic!
Awesome recipe! I marinated whole skinless boneless thighs overnight and baked them at 425 degrees for 20-25 mins. Came out insanely juicy. Gonna be a weeknight staple. Thanks!
Wow! Love this satay chicken. I didn’t have time to marinade the chicken, so I left thechicken breaststroke while and cooked them in the marinade for 30 minutes – so tender. I cooked brown rice and spooned some of the marinade over it. The satay sauce was the best I’ve tasted!
I make a point of looking up different techniques for favourite recipes, but I don’t need to look up satay chicken and peanut sauce any more. Never seen your site before, but I have just bookmarked and subscribed. I never leave reviews, and I hate people posting food pics on Insta, but I’ve just done both. I admit I changed the sauce a bit by adding a bit of onion and garlic, but it was the lime and ginger that made it! Thanks heaps, look forward to trying more of your stuff in the future.
This was delicious! I sauteed the chicken because it was easier than getting out the grill. The funny thing is that in the midst of prepping this dish and cooking other dishes, I forgot to make the peanut sauce. The chicken was still really flavorful on its own. Now I can make this for myself again and again instead of having to order it from a restaurant. Next time I’ll try it with the sauce.
I’m just rating the peanut sauce here, which I made in a hurry today. We bought some prepared teriyaki chicken satay from Whole Foods, and we needed a killer sauce to go with. I made this peanut sauce and boy was it yummy! We also used the sauce with some soy-pepper marinated skirt steak (also purchased from Whole Foods) that we threaded onto skewers and grilled. Also very tasty. Next time, Chungah, I will follow your recipe for the chicken, because the seasonings look so delicious. In fact, it’ll probably be very soon because I really want to try it!
I have made this dish 3 times now and I love it – it’s amazingly flavorful and so great with some fluffy rice and pickled cucumber salad. I make it with chicken tenders because I prefer white meat – just poke the breasts with a fork to let all the marinade seep in and enjoy!
WOW this was soooooooo delicious! The chicken tasted wonderful but you are absolutely right…the peanut sauce is the bomb (and Yes, it would make shoe leather taste good!!!). I made this with stir fried veggies and Jasmine rice -what a satisfying dinner. I do have a question though, I used a natural creamy peanut butter from Costco that was creamy but a lot thicker than say Skippy creamy peanut butter. I tripled the recipe for the peanut sauce and was probably a little heavy handed with the measuring spoon, but I could not get my sauce to the consistency that spreads out a bit when brushed over the chicken skewers (or ladled by the spoonful into my mouth). I added a little water like you said and it helped a bit but I didn’t want to mess with that awesome flavor and dilute it. Any suggestions for thinning it in my case without it affecting the taste?
I thin it down with coconut milk, and I used honey instead of brown sugar. Works really well.
I’ve made this a few times now and it’s amazing!!! Always a hit! Quick question – would this freeze well if I make a large batch? I am having guests over and want to make enough, but afraid I may have leftovers and don’t want them to go to waste.
Thank you so much and for sharing such amazing recipes 🙂
Hi Nina I made a batch without cooking and froze for camping. It was delicious!
The best Satay I have ever made the chicken was so succulent, I didn’t have any fish sauce but really it couldn’t have been any better anyway! Will definitely make this again.
Oh my goodness these were the best satay I’ve ever had, and the kiddos loved them too. I have been annoyed at how much we pay for satay that is a hit or miss with the kids, and so I turned to the interwebs, and they did not disappoint. Thank you! Minor subs: heavy cream because of food sensitivity to coconut milk, and avo oil for canola because I had run out.
This is my first attempt at making chicken satay. These were by far the best I’ve ever eaten!
Thank you.
Served with a side of steamed runner beans
Thank you. I usually just grill this but I wanted to try it as a regular dinner but couldn’t think of what to serve with. You are quite literally the best!
AMAZING!! I have searched for years for a good Satay and this is by far the best I’ve ever had.
A+++++ Wow, this is good. I wanted to try making chicken satay at home and came right to your website because I have loved all your recipes. They are always amazing!! This one was as well. I followed your recipe except I didn’t use the sweet chili sauce in the peanut sauce.
The chicken is moist and 10 times better than any we have had out in a restaurant. We won’t be ordering it out again, because this recipe is absolute perfection. Definitely adding this to our dinner rotation.
Thank you so much for sharing wonderful recipes that are so easy to make.
Much gratitude and appreciation.
This was simply amazing!! We do extended family dinners every Sunday and those people who never comment no matter what is made, couldn’t help but say how much they loved this dish. Diners aged from 78 to 7 and gobbled up by all! I served it with Jasmine rice and broccoli. Easy to make and even easier to eat! This recipe is a keeper. Thank you so very much for sharing!
We loved this when we made it a few weeks ago — my 12 year old daughter found the recipe and was a major part of the prep work! We served it with rice and broccoli and carrots and there were no leftovers. We subbed almond butter for the peanut butter and coconut aminos for the soy due to some dietary restrictions and it worked perfectly. Going to try it tomorrow with 2 lbs of chicken breasts since that’s what we have in the house… thank you for a wonderful, delicious and easy recipe.
Wow. You have changed my life with this recipe. Chicken satay was always my favorite dish at Thai restaurants, though they never gave you enough peanut sauce or cucumber onion salad. Then came the virus and suddenly eating out wasn’t an option.
But how to make something so authentically Thai at home? Does one even dare try? So I found your recipe, took my courage in both hands, and oh! Lordy it’s every bit as good as eating out, better in fact, as good as any I have ever had. And best of all, I can have it whenever I want! And with LOTS of sauce and cucumber salad too! Fresh off the grill it’s a standout dish.
Your recipe is easy and the taste combination superb. I have made it three times already (once with shrimp) and have another lot marinating right now. Family I have shared with were as thrilled as we were. Hats off to you and THANK YOU for making it easy to pig out on the best satay we have ever tasted.