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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Making this for the third time now. I lived in SE Asia for quite a few years, visited Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia repeatedly and fed three kids satay in all those places. Also have a Thai sis-in-law who makes great Thai food, as it’s part of her genetic makeup to do it right, I swear! This is somewhat ‘inauthentic’, but it’s so easy and, as promised, damn delicious. Keep up the go work.
Silly question, I have boneless thighs per the recipe. Can I grill the whole thighs or are they meant to be but up and then skewered?
I’ve made this 4 times and stuck to the recipe each time. Why mess with something so good!
It’s a keeper for sure. Thanks for sharing it.
Love a good satay but am often underwhelmed by the sauce…. this was absolutely amazing! Marinated chicken and prawns before skewering with fresh pineapple and barbecuing. Added extra chopped peanuts, 2 tbls brown sugar and extra chilli to the sauce to give it a kick. Licked the plates clean, thank you!
This was flippin’ ridiculously delicious! SO flavorful and authentic tasting. Will share, will make again. Thank you so much!
Followed the recipe exactly other than the long marinade time we did it for one hour. Amazing flavours!!! High on my list to make again soon!
This was excellent. I loved it. I served it with pineapple rice, and corn. The corn didn’t really go, but we had it, so I cooked it.
Satay recipe should include cumin and coriander.
So flavorful! The sauce is amazing and goes great with the marinated chicken. I served coconut rice with the chicken and it was a hit for my family. Thank you!
Made this multiple times – a family favorite.
(Sorry I omit the Fish Sauce)
The peanut sauce is incredible- we lavish it on!
my whole fam loved it! doing the marinade the night before made it a super quick and easy weeknight meal, I paired it with your beef bulgogi and white rice and it was PERFECT !
my whole fam loved it! doing the marinade the night before made it a super quick and easy weeknight meal, I paired it with your beef bulgogi and white rice and it was PERFECT
Yummy!
I made this today for lunch and my whole family loved it. Sad there were no leftovers, I went to the store for more ingredients so I can prep this for the week!
Easy recipe and my family loves it
I made this last night & it was very good! Definitely a “keeper!” I had marinated the chicken a while ago & then froze it in the marinade for an easy supper in the future & it worked out great. I will make it again & maybe add some crushed peanuts on top just for fun!
Just delicious
I was mixing ingredients together and for one, I thought/think I got a wrong ingredient.* For two, I thought I was just flat out being punked… I was mixing the ingredients and I really doubted that they could belong together. I thought, “How could a stranger be so mean to make me buy and immediately waste these ingredients?”
Chili garlic in peanut sauce?? No way. Never would have thought that the peanut flavor could cover that and/or be complimented by it.
WELL, in my faithless ways… I dipped a piece of chicken in the marinade and being after midnight… I was not waiting around so I cooked it up in a pan. OMG! It will be better grilled tomorrow but GOOD GOD. Then with the peanut sauce? Straight to the pleasure center in my brain. I think it justifies every bad thing that has ever happened in my life to lead me here.
Thank you, sincerely.
*I got curry powder and didn’t realize until I was ready to prep, I got a curry mixture. It is yellow in color and it was all I found so I got it. Tonight reading the ingredients I see there is onion powder, coriander, turmeric, etc.
Soooo… whether it is right or wrong, it is good. I’m a red curry kinda girl so I wasn’t privy to the yellow curry options out there.
Soooo… technically, ‘curry’ just means ‘sauce’. Kinda like ‘salsa’. A solid base of turmeric is what makes a yellow curry. As long as you like it, roll with it. There is a plant that is called a curry tree, but those leaves are used whole like bay leaves, and they are very little (if any) part of a curry powder. You’re good. <3
This recipe is spot on, especially the marinaded chicken. Absolutely delicious! I did it on skewers in the oven turn one @350’ for 15 minutes. Then I put under the broiler for 7 minutes~ it was SO tender, it almost fell apart ,certainly only needed a fork to cut it ~ yay!
The peanut sauce was good, but I think I’d hold at 2tbsp. omitting the 3rd one….
All in all a ‘damn delicious ‘ recipe!!!
I have always adored chicken satay, but when we went to Thailand for a month we experienced so much amazing food and wonderful flavors, my old chicken satay recipes just didn’t satisfy anymore. I’ve been trying various recipes – but with this one, we have our number 1 choice! THe peanut sauce is different that other peanut sauces, and the marinade spectacular creating juicy, flavorful chicken right off the grill – the peanut sauce is just the icing on the cake! Your use of fresh ingredients really makes it reminiscent of the delicious, always fresh flavors we tasted in Thailand. Thank you so much!