Satay skewers: the benchmark of authentic Thai food! Think deeply marinated chicken with a peanut sauce that’s so good, everyone will be begging for the recipe. Serve this with steamed jasmine or Coconut Rice. Or go all out with a Thai restaurant banquet complete with Thai Fried Rice , Pad See Ew or Thai Chilli Basil Stir Fry!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Thai Chicken Satay skewers
At the risk of sounding totally obnoxious – this is a recipe for Chicken Satay skewers with Thai Peanut Sauce that truly stacks up to your favourite Thai restaurant.
When it hits the stove, the smell is SO GOOD you will just know they are going to taste amazing.
Then you have a taste of the peanut dipping sauce…… and you’ll just shake your head, wondering how the heck can something so simple taste so good??!!
Or you might be thinking – OMG, I finally cracked it, this tastes EXACTLY like the authentic Chicken Satay I had in Thailand!!! Oh wait, maybe that’s just in my head. 😂
What goes in Chicken Satay and Thai Peanut Sauce
It might surprise you how few ingredients go in Chicken Satay and the peanut sauce! Here’s what you need:
The BEST Thai Red Curry Paste
Thai Red Curry paste is a “secret ingredient” in both the marinade and the sauce. You just need about 2.5 tbsp which doesn’t sound like much, but we don’t want this to taste of red curry. We’re just using it as a flavour enhancer.
While I’m an advocate of homemade curry paste for Thai Red Curry and Green Curry, for recipes like this that use a smaller quantity, I use store bought.
I use Maesri Thai Red Curry Paste which I think is the best by a long shot. I also use this same brand for Green Curry and Red Curry for quick midweek curries.
It also happens to be the cheapest, at around $1.30 per can at major supermarkets like Coles, Woolies and Harris Farms.
How to make Thai Peanut Sauce
Thai Peanut Sauce is almost unbelievably simple to make. It’s literally just a 5 minute plonk-and-simmer job:
coconut milk
red curry paste
cider or white vinegar (not lime juice!)
pure peanut butter (see below for more info)
soy sauce
sugar
cooking salt / kosher salt (halve the quantity if you only have table salt which is finer. So 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt = 1/2 tsp table salt).
For the BEST Thai Peanut Sauce, use natural peanut butter
While commercial peanut butter spread is ok, if you want a really great authentic Thai Peanut Sauce that truly stacks up to your favourite Thai restaurant, use pure peanut butter. You’ll find it in the health food section of most supermarket nowadays.
Pure peanut butter is made with JUST peanuts – no sugar, oil or other additives – so the peanut flavour is stronger.
Also, natural peanut butter is thinner than commercial peanut butter spreads (see below) which means you need less water to thin the sauce = better peanut flavour in Thai Peanut Sauce!
Ahead of publishing this recipe, I tried the Thai Peanut Sauce with natural pure peanut butter vs commercial peanut butter (Kraft, now Bega) side by side to confirm this!
I’m a firm believer that Chicken Satay skewers should be tasty enough to eat on their own and the peanut sauce just takes it over the top. So I like to marinade the chicken to make it extra tasty.
Chicken Satay Marinade
Here’s what you need for the Thai Chicken Satay Marinade:
Chicken pieces – chicken thighs yield the juiciest chicken skewers but breast or tenderloin are fine
Red curry paste – see above for my recommended brand Maesri
Curry powder – any is fine here
Coconut milk
sugar
cooking salt / kosher salt – halve the quantity if you only have table salt which is finer. So 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt = 1/2 tsp table salt.
It’s best to marinade for at least 3 hours but even 20 minutes is long enough.
Cooking the Chicken Skewers
Chicken satay is a summertime favourite to cook on the BBQ. But I usually cook it on the stove for convenience.
For a really authentic Thai experience, cook the Chicken Satay over charcoal like it’s done in Thailand!
Thai Chicken Satay is a popular starter on Thai restaurants menus along with Thai Fish Cakes. But it’s also ideal served as a main. Serve it with steamed jasmine rice – or with fluffy Asian Coconut Rice (it’s amazing!). Or go all out with Thai Fried Rice or Pineapple Fried Rice!
For a fresh side salad, try this Asian Slaw, or use this Asian Sesame Dressing for a fresh salad or steamed vegetables.
If you want to go all out with a homemade Thai Banquet, serve this Chicken Satay as the starter with Thai Chilli Basil Stir Fry, a curry (Massaman Curry, Green Curry or Red Curry) with Coconut Rice as the mains. Or Pad See Ew! ~ Nagi x
Recipe source: An original creation but the roots of this recipe are from various Thai cookbooks and renowned Thai food experts like David Thompson and Sujet Saenkham (owner of the famous Spice I Am restaurants). Except I’ve made this recipe so it’s accessible to everyday cooks – without compromising! 🙂
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 400 g/14oz coconut milk (1 can), full fat
- 13-16 bamboo skewers , 16cm / 6.5″ long (Note 1)
Marinade:
- 600 g / 1.2lb chicken thighs , boneless skinless, cut into 2cm/4/5″ pieces (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp curry powder (Note 3)
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 2 tsp red curry paste (Note 4)
- 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (sub 1/2 tsp table salt)
Thai Peanut Sauce:
- 2 tbsp red curry paste (Note 4)
- 3/4 cup natural peanut butter, smooth (Note 5)
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 6)
- 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (sub 1/2 tsp table salt)
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar (Note 7)
- 3/4 cup water
Serving:
- 2 tbsp peanuts finely chopped
- Lime wedges (optional)
- Coriander / cilantro leaves and sliced red chilli (optional)
Instructions
- If cooking on a BBQ or over charcoal, soak skewers for 2 hours in water.
Thai Chicken Satay Skewers:
- Mix together the chicken and Marinade with 1/4 cup of coconut milk, then set aside for at least 20 minutes, or overnight.
- Thread onto skewers – I do 4 to 5 pieces each.
- Heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a large non stick pan over medium high heat.
- Cook skewers in batches for 3 minutes on each side until golden.
Thai Peanut Sauce:
- Place remaining coconut milk and Peanut Sauce ingredients in a saucepan over medium low heat.
- Stir to combine then simmer, stirring every now and then, for 5 minutes.
- Adjust consistency with water – it should be a pourable but thickish sauce.
- Cover with lid and keep warm while cooking skewers.
Serving:
- Pour some sauce into a bowl. Sprinkle with some peanuts – stir some through if you want.
- Pile satay skewers onto a platter, sprinkle with remaining peanuts, coriander and chilli.
- Serve with sauce on the side for dipping. Add a side of Jasmine Rice or Thai Fried Rice to complete the meal!
Recipe Notes:
- Sauce for for rice, noodles, veggies (raw or steamed)
- Make a simple Gado Gado with steam veg, hard boiled eggs and rice
- Dip for prawn crackers and vegetables
- As the dressing for this Chinese Chicken Salad, Satay Noodle Salad, Peanut Noodle Salad or Sesame Noodles
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
He thought I said PELICAN satay……
Wow! I grilled these for 5 min a side and they were absolute perfection. Restaurant quality. This is going in the regular rotation. And carrots dipped in the sauce was a perfect side. I’m going to freeze the left over sauce in an ice cube tray for single servings.
Having recently retired in the UK, I treated myself to a kamado bbq and have been looking for recipe ideas. Your website is now my go-to having tried a few of your dishes. This satay recipe is our favourite so far – authentic taste and so delicious! Thank you
I made the dipping sauce but I added a little lime juice, ginger and garlic.
Plus a teaspoon of brown sugar which just bumped up the flavors.
Great recipe to follow
Thanks
So quick, easy and delicious, the whole family loved it!
This was so easy to prepare and tasted delicious.
I have just made the Thai Chicken Satay, amazing! I have a lot of sauce left over, can I freeze the sauce?
Thanks Karen
This is SO lovely, light and spicy, we cooked on the bbq and was amazing. Leftover sauce in a killer jar but I doubt if any will be left tomorrow 😀
I marinated the size overnight last night and then made this for lunch today and no kidding, the best ever! I finally made something Thai that taste as good as in any restaurant. Double thumbs up from husband. I’ve frozen the remainder of the sauce so will look forward to having it again. Thank you for this one.
For years, I searched for a peanut sauce that was on par with what I ordered in Thai restaurants. I discovered this recipe a few years ago and it has been my go-to ever since. Absolutely delicious, well balanced, and so flavorful! The chicken marinade is also amazing and the combination has become one of our favorite meals. I highly recommend it cooked over charcoal, for an extra depth of flavor.
Oh. My. Goodness. This is SO delicious. I kept having to “just taste” the peanut sauce. Lots of dirty spoons from that. So flavorful, thanks for another keeper!
The sauce is especially good!
My son would eat this Satay recipe every day! Thank you for sharing your talent.
So good! Served with some buk choy in soy sauce and quick pickled cucumber. Recommend!
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I marinated the chicken overnight but didn’t worry about skewers. I just pan fried the chicken and served over rice and added some stir fried veggies as a side. I’ve read in other comments that the satay sauce freezes well so I’ll give it a try.
This is the best. I use whole thighs, char grill them, then toss them in the sauce. Add to bowl with brown rice and steamed Chinese greens, and it’s perfection. My partner is still raving about it days later, even though it’s a regular.
The smells from this is devine, even my husband who doesn’t eat anything like it commented on the smell. It was a lot spicier than I anticipated though, and I tried to add cream to help but it was still a 4/5 on the spice scale for me.
Delicious! Lovely, tasty, rich and spicy. Had this tonight as a fakeaway dinner and it really hit the spot with my family. Next time I’ll cook it on the BBQ for an extra flavour dimension.
We use this as an all-purpose curry dipping sauce! Tonight we had it over leftover raosted veggies and chickpeas on rice.
Yum yum yum!
I made a double batch of sauce so we can do a vegetarian version using tempeh as well as a regular chicken one. I steamed the tempeh to remove the bitterness, and marinated the both proteins separately. In the interest of time, we baked the tempeh and chicken, because we also made your pad Thai, green curry, smashed cucumber salad and green papaya salad. Our guests gorged themselves…lol
I could drink the dipping sauce.
Thank you for making me look like an amazing, versatile chef 😁
What can I say, yet another delicious recipe Nagi, very easy to make. delish💗