Thai Chicken Satay (or Sate) is marinated and grilled spicy chicken skewers that are served with a creamy and rich peanut sauce. This southeast Asian dish is perfect to serve as a Christmas or New Year’s Eve holiday appetizer with Spicy Thai Mango Salad or as a weekday meal with a bowl of Spicy Egg Fried Rice.
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These Thai Chicken Satay skewers are extremely easy to make and are perfect for entertaining. You can marinate the chicken pieces up to 24 hours in advance, and grill or bake them just before serving. It only takes 10 to 12 minutes to fully cook them, it's so quick and easy!
What is Satay?
Satay (or Sate) is a South Asian dish consisting of marinated, skewered, and then grilled meat served with a dipping sauce. The method is very similar to Shish Tawook (Turkish Chicken Kebab) or Lamb Shish Kebab. But the spices for the marinade and the flavor notes are very different.
The most popular satay is chicken, followed by pork, mutton, and beef. Chicken Satay is typically served with a rich and creamy peanut sauce, and mutton satay is served with a sweet soy sauce called "kecap manis".
Satay is traditionally served as an appetizer or street food. However, you can also enjoy these delicious grilled meat skewers as a main meal along with a bowl of steamed rice or over some noodles and some salad.
Why This Recipe Works?
- Thai Chicken Satay is extremely easy to make and full of flavor.
- They taste as good as the ones from your favorite takeaway Thai restaurants!
- The peanut sauce is rich, creamy, and addictively delicious. If you can manage to get any leftover sauce, you can use it as a salad dressing or serve it over noodles.
- The leftover Thai chicken skewers are great for making wraps and sandwiches.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Chicken Satay Marinade
The marinade is the most important part of this recipe. You will need the following ingredients to create the most delicious marinade for your chicken satay skewers:
- Chicken breast - I use boneless skinless chicken breasts but chicken thighs work great too with this recipe. If your chicken is frozen, make sure to defrost or thaw it before marinating it.
- Peanut butter - Use smooth or crunchy natural peanut butter for a creamy texture and rich flavor.
- Coconut cream - I prefer coconut cream over coconut milk as it has a much thicker and creamier consistency. You can use coconut milk if that's what is available to you.
- Red curry paste - It is a versatile and flavorful base for a variety of Thai dishes such as Thai Fish Cakes - Tod Mun Pla. My favorite brand is Mae Ploy but you can use any brand you enjoy cooking with. They all have different strength levels so adjust the amount of paste and seasoning you use in the recipe.
- Soy sauce - I use Kikkoman all-purpose soy sauce for this recipe. Double the amount if using low-sodium soy sauce.
- Curry powder - It usually consists of turmeric, cumin, ginger, and black pepper, and helps add flavor and color to the marinade. Garam masala also works well with this recipe.
Peanut Dipping Sauce for Chicken Satay
All you need is a few ingredients to create the most deliciously creamy, zesty peanut-lime sauce that will bring your Chicken Satay to the next level:
- Peanuts - Roughly chop them to add extra crunch to the sauce.
- Lime juice - Freshly squeezed lime is the best option. It adds the peanut sauce a little acidity and balances out both the sweetness and the saltiness. You can use bottled lime juice if that's all you have.
- Honey - It adds sweetness, complements the slight spice from the red curry paste, and levels out the sodium in the soy sauce. You can substitute it with palm sugar or light brown sugar.
- Red curry paste
- Soy sauce
- Peanut butter
How to Make Thai Chicken Satay?
Although it is very easy to make these delicious Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, there are a few simple tips to follow for the best flavor and texture:
Marinate the Chicken
Soak the bamboo skewers in water for an hour to avoid them burning while grilling the chicken sate.
Place the curry powder, peanut butter, coconut cream or coconut milk, red curry paste, honey, vegetable oil or peanut oil, all-purpose soy sauce, and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk well until all are combined.
Cut the chicken breast into 3 cm (1") cubes.
Add them to the bowl, and mix them together until all the chicken pieces are covered with the marinade.
Leave them to marinate for a minimum of half an hour, ideally overnight in the fridge. Don't let them marinate for more than 24 hours as the acid in the marinade will destroy the texture of the meat.
Prepare the Peanut Dipping Sauce
To prepare the peanut sauce, whisk together peanut butter, coconut cream or coconut milk, red curry paste, all-purpose soy sauce, lime juice, and honey in a small pan.
Place the pot on medium heat and gently simmer the sauce until it has thickened, keep it warm until ready to serve.
Cook the Satay Chicken Skewers
Thread the chicken onto soaked bamboo skewers. I used 12 small bamboo skewers for this recipe.
The best way to cook chicken satay skewers is by grilling them on the BBQ. You can also cook them on an indoor grill, in oven or air fryer!
When cooking on the BBQ, make sure the grill is properly hot before you place the chicken skewers on them. Cook the chicken skewers for 12-14 minutes or the core temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C (165 °F).
If you want to cook Chicken Satay Skewers in the oven, preheat the oven grill to 210 °C (410 °F). Place the skewers on a tin foil-lined tray and then cook for 15 minutes or until the core temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C (165 °F).
If you want to cook Chicken Satay Skewers in the air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 200° C (390° F). Place the skewers in the air fryer basket without overlapping them. Cook them for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the core temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C (165 °F).
Serve the chicken skewers with plenty of peanut butter sauce on the side.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full, printable recipe!
What to Serve with Thai Chicken Satay (Sate)?
This delicious dish is traditionally served as an appetizer along with creamy and rich peanut butter sauce.
I also serve Thai Chicken Satay skewers as a main meal along with Spicy Egg Fried Rice and Spicy Thai Mango Salad.
Top Tips From the Chef
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for an hour to avoid them burning while grilling the chicken sate.
- If you want to use frozen chicken, make sure to defrost or thaw it before marinating it.
- Marinate the chicken pieces for a minimum of half an hour, ideally overnight in the fridge.
- Don't let the chicken marinate for more than 24 hours as the acid in the marinade will destroy the texture of the meat.
- When cooking on the BBQ, make sure the grill is properly hot before you place the chicken skewers on them.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can prepare the marinate and keep it for up to 5 days refrigerated in an air-tight container. Make sure you don't marinate the chicken pieces longer than 24 hours prior to cooking!
You can also prepare the peanut butter sauce up to 5 days in advance.
The leftovers would keep for up to 5 days when refrigerated in an airtight container. Make sure you keep the peanut butter sauce and chicken pieces separately.
Alternatively, you can freeze the peanut butter sauce and chicken pieces separately for up to 3 months in airtight containers.
You can reheat the leftover chicken pieces in a preheated oven to 180° C (360° F) for 7-8 minutes, or until they are piping hot. You can also use an air fryer (5 minutes @ 175° C - 350° F) or microwave (2 minutes on medium power).
To reheat the sauce, place it in a small pan and gently reheat it on low heat until it reaches the desired temperature.
Related Recipes
For more delicious Asian recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Satay Marinade
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 50 g peanut butter
- 60 g coconut cream or coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or peanut oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon all-purpose soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 650 g boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken thigh
For the Peanut Dipping Sauce
- 150 g peanut butter
- 240 g coconut cream or coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 30 g peanuts (roughly chopped)
Instructions
Marinating the Chicken
- Soak the bamboo skewers to avoid them burning while grilling the chicken sate.
- Place the curry powder, peanut butter, coconut cream or coconut milk, red curry paste, honey, vegetable oil or peanut oil, all-purpose soy sauce, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk well until all are combined.
- Cut the chicken breast into 3 cm (1") cubes and then add them to the bowl. Mix them together until all the chicken pieces are covered with the marinade.
- Leave them to marinate for a minimum of half an hour, ideally overnight in the fridge. Don't let them marinate for more than 24 hours as the acid in the marinade will destroy the texture of the meat.
Preparing the Peanut Dipping Sauce
- To prepare the peanut sauce, whisk together peanut butter, coconut cream or coconut milk, red curry paste, all-purpose soy sauce, lime juice, and honey in a small pot.
- Place the pot on medium heat and gently simmer the sauce until it has thickened, keep it warm until ready to serve.
Cooking the Satay Chicken Skewers
- Thread the chicken onto soaked bamboo skewers. I used 12 small bamboo skewers for this recipe.
- The best way to cook chicken satay skewers is by grilling them on the BBQ. Alternatively, you can use your indoor grill oven grill to cook them as well as an oven or an air fryer!
- When cooking on the BBQ, make sure the grill is properly hot before you place the chicken skewers on them. Cook for 12-14 minutes or the core temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C (165 °F).
- If you want to cook Chicken Satay Skewers in the oven, preheat the oven grill to 210 °C (410 °F). Place the skewers on a tin foil-lined tray and then cook for 15 minutes or until the core temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C (165 °F).
- If you want to cook Chicken Satay Skewers in the air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 200° C (390° F). Place the skewers in the air fryer basket without overlapping them. Cook them for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the core temperature of the chicken reaches 74 °C (165 °F).
- Serve the chicken skewers with a bowl of peanut butter sauce on the side.
Notes
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for an hour to avoid them burning while grilling the chicken sate.
- If you want to use frozen chicken, make sure to defrost or thaw it before marinating it.
- Marinate the chicken pieces for a minimum of half an hour, ideally overnight in the fridge.
- Don't let the chicken marinate for more than 24 hours as the acid in the marinade will destroy the texture of the meat.
- When cooking on the BBQ, make sure the grill is properly hot before you place the chicken skewers on them.
- The leftovers would keep for up to 5 days when refrigerated in an airtight container. Make sure you keep the peanut butter sauce and chicken pieces separately.
- Alternatively, you can freeze the peanut butter sauce and chicken pieces separately for up to 3 months in airtight containers.
Nutrition
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Gabriela
Love the recipe. Thanks for posting this!