Meet your new midweek secret weapon: an astonishingly quick Satay Peanut Stir Fry that tastes like what you get from Chinese restaurants. On the table in 15 minutes, made with your choice of protein – beef, chicken, pork, prawns/shrimp or tofu!
This recipe is made using one of my master sauce recipe, this Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries. Like my All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce, it can be used for any stir fry or noodles using a “formula” (provided in the recipe) and forms the basis for many recipes I’ve shared over the years!
Quick Peanut Stir Fry
I love being proven wrong over good food.
I can usually read a recipe and have a good sense for what it will taste like. I know, for example, a stir fry made with just soy sauce and sugar would just taste flat and bleh.
And I must confess, when I first saw the relatively short ingredient list for the Satay Peanut Stir Fry Sauce for this recipe, I was a bit dubious – but also curious. Would it have enough depth of flavour, could you taste the peanut, was there even enough sauce??
I was dead wrong.
This, my friends, is a gem of a find. It’s not mine, it’s a reader recipe – Pat The Wanderer, a self declared nomad…..I love the mystery surrounding where “home” actually is!
Long time readers know I’m a fan of Satay, having done my share of various types including Thai Chicken Satay, Indonesian Satay Skewers (easiest of the bunch, Malaysian coming soon), Satay Chicken Noodle Salad (this is epic!), a Chicken Satay Curry and a saucy Chinese Chicken Satay Stir Fry (my copycat of the satay chicken from Chinese restaurants here in Australia).
Though they are all easy, the ingredient list is a bit longer than the typical quick midweek meal I share here, and some require pulling out your food processor. So I’m pretty chuffed to have discovered this QUICK Satay Peanut Stir Fry recipe!
I’ve made this 5 times – 3 times with beef, once with chicken and prawns/shrimp. Try this with Velveted Chicken or Beef (meat that’s tenderised the easy Chinese restaurant way) – it’s incredible!
If you’re a busy person, fan of satay, lover of Chinese food and/or all of the above, this one is for you. Pat The Wanderer, we thank you! – Nagi xx
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Quick Satay Peanut Stir Fry (any protein)
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp curry powder (any – I use hot!)
- 1 1/2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (smooth also ok)
- 2 tbsp water
Stir Fry:
- 300 – 350 g / 10 – 12 oz beef , chicken or pork thinly sliced (or peeled prawns/shrimp) (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 garlic , finely chopped (Note 3)
- 1 large onion , sliced
- 1 large carrot , julienned (Note 4)
- 1 big handful bean sprouts (~1 1/2 cups packed)
- 1/2 cup finely sliced shallots / green onions (plus more for garnish)
- 1/4 cup crushed peanuts , plus more for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Mix Sauce ingredients EXCEPT WATER together in a small bowl. Then mix in water (easier to combine).
- Place beef in a bowl, add 1 tbsp Sauce. Mix, set aside 10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a wok or large heavy based skillet over high heat. Add garlic and stir until golden (~10 sec) then add onion. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add beef. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes or until it mostly turns brown (some red spots ok). If using pork, chicken or prawns, cook until almost cooked through.
- Add carrots, bean sprouts and Sauce. Cook until veggies are wilted.
- Add peanuts and shallots, stir.
- Serve immediately with rice or noodles, garnished with extra shallots and peanuts if desired. (For a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Quick Satay Peanut Stir Fry recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
At the time this post goes live, I’ll be up in the air enroute from San Francisco to Sydney, back to my usual routine. This is part of it – every single time I take Dozer to the beach, I open the boot, Dozer leaps out, bolts across the park and all the way down the beach about 500m/550 yards away (Step 1) then a few minutes later, bolts back to make sure I’m coming (Step 2).
Every. Single. Time.
So tomorrow when I land, I’ll be back to it. 🙂
Delicious!! Great pantry & fridge staple dinner. I’d be tempted to double the sauce next time.
Omg I love this! Mind you I swapped out fish sauce for Charlie sauce to a similar measurement, but it was a good fridge cleaner recipe
Absolutely scrumptious way to eat loads of vegetables! I used 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1/2 tbsp fish sauce.. also 1 tsp honey instead of the sugar. Cooked a beautiful veggie stir fry to eat for work lunches for days 😊
Cooked for the second time and think in future will reduce the amount of curry powder.. (as the first time making it I only had maybe 1/2 teaspoon left and that ended up perfect!)
This didn’t work for me, sauce was bitter and salty. Nagi’s peanut sauces that use coconut milk are very good, but I don’t know, I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out very harsh. I salvaged the sauce by adding leftover red curry paste, but I won’t do a peanut sauce that doesn’t use coconut milk to mellow the fish sauce again.
My apologies, it wasn’t this recipe, the curry powder I used was what made it bitter! It almost ruined another curry recipe I tried. I usually make my own blend, but I can’t get ingredients like fenugreek, so I tried some expensive “organic” stuff that doesn’t have the non-spice chemicals they put in the cheap brand… Well, be careful with the curry powder used in recipes like this with few ingredients! Even the expensive stuff can be bad.
Yummy! But I had to tweak it because it was SO salty. There was no salt in the peanut butter (nor sugar), so it could only have been the fish sauce. I wonder if certain fish sauces are saltier than others (I used Ayam). I added more peanut butter and sugar, as well as some honey, then it was more balanced. Perhaps I have been trained to expect satay to be somewhat sweeter than it is traditionally meant to be; if you are like me, maybe put half the indicated amount of fish sauce and build up from there.
Super easy recipe, perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. Made it with beef and our family really enjoyed the flavours! Thanks, Nagi!
Its one of those recipes you use when at 6pm the kids go, whats for tea mum and you think, hell what is for tea tonight! Its easy, fast and delicious, two thumbs up Nagi
Another winning recipe from Nagi! I made this for the second time today and my husband keeps raving about how much he loves it! I would be lost without Recipe Tin Eats 🙂
10/10 Nagi! Delirious, l made it with pork tonight for dinner. Easy, quick and l used ingredients l had on hand! Very adaptable and yummy!
Excellent recipe! Fast and easy. I didn’t have any beef on hand, so I made it vegetarian. I used leftover spaghetti noodles, and it turned out great. This is a new addition to the monthly menu rotation. Thanks, Nagi!
Loved this recipe. So fast and tasty. Brilliant mid week dinner
Excellent dish with prawns. Doubled recipe but used 1kg of prawns (more than double!) and worked really well. Also swapped half the carrot for thinly cut broccoli florets. Delicious. Kids gobbled up broccoli and bean sprouts I was amazed!
Wow 🤩 lovely stuff
Very clear and easy to follow recipe. We are vegetarian/vegan so added some marinated Tempeh instead of the beef and, as suggested, soy instead of fish sauce. Also when I went to the store cupboard found that the peanut butter my wife said we had was peanut butter with cocoa. Probably would not have been good, but luckily had cashew butter and cashews. This worked well.
As vegetarian/vegan I often adapt meat recipes and the instructions are not always easy to adapt. These ones were really clear and easy to use. Thanks!
I am happy that you enjoyed it Neil! N x
Hi! I’m excited to try this recipe. I’m from the UK. What cuts of beef would you recommend to get? Especially on the more price-friendly margin?
Tired and emotional after a long long day. Selected this meal on the way home in the car – even velveted the chicken – delish, delish. Hubby happy that there’s leftovers as well. You never fail me Nagi, always inspiration within these pages. Love your work.
Get some rest Aideen and tomorrow will hopefully be better! I am glad the dinner helped a bit! N x
Did not have my glasses on …
triple peanut butter sooo good
Kitchen hazard!! N x
left overs were better
Absolutely loved this! The chicken velveting trick is fabulous and the chicken melted in our mouths. Love your enthusiasm, passion, intelligent notes & Dozer life tales
YUMO! I made this for dinner Saturday night (tried only a bit) and it was delicious. How great, quick and simple. I have a lot left so can’t wait to have it for work lunches. Love your recipes Nagi, I would recommend them to everyone.
The sauce base is on regular midweek rotation in our household. I use firm tofu for the stirfry. I also double the recipe to have leftovers for work lunches. It’s a firm favourite for us, thanks Nagi!