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……
This was incredible and so easy. Made it with the coconut rice yum!
This is a great recipe. The peanut sauce is by far the best I have made, if will now be my go to.
This was great, I enjoyed it alot!
I had all ingredients on hand so that’s a plus.
Looking for satay that’s truely authentic then this is the best, found this recipe last year and have made it heaps – freezes well if you could give 10 stars I would yummo 👍
Hiya!
I’ve lost my favorite satay sauce so want to make yours and freeze it.
What quantities would you suggest I freeze it in?
Thanking you in advance!
Shona 😊
You. Inspire. Me!
As a 47yr old Dad of two young daughters, Im just venturing into cooking, having only bought a proper bbq for the first time recently, your recipes gave me the courage of my own conviction and confidence to cook! It is a true inspiration for once the time and efforts were more than rewarded with exceptional delicious taste, scent and amazing presentation aswell! You make it fun and deceptively easy. Thankyou thankyou, thankyou!!! I now look forward to planning what recipetin eats recipe I’m going to try every weekend! Thankyou for doing what you do!
What an amazing recipe! Thank you. I cooked them slightly differently as I received some metal skewers for my instant pot with air fryer lid. I cooked them in the air fryer function at 190c for 15 min. I put some slices of red pepper to help keep the chicken chunks from sliding down. At the top and bottom. They were so delicious!!
Turned out great! We added hot sauce to taste and served it with coconut jasmine rice and a thai cucumber salad.
Hi Nagi, Your recipe for Thai Satay Chicken looks and sounds fabulous. What kind of oil would you recommend? I am going to make it New Years Eve. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe.
Thank you so much – used the recipe just for the sauce and it turned out great.
If you use a vegan curry paste, make sure to add in some fish sauce to really amp it up!
Thanks so much for this recipe Nagi. I’m tired of going to a takeaway shop to get satay and all you get is a sauce that supposedly constitutes as a satay and it tastes nothing like it. Can’t wait to make this one. Happy Christmas to you and Dozer xx
So good.
Made them a few times but made them again for a casual BBQ and everyone raved and asked where id bought them from! I don’t even exaggerate! I could over hear people talking about them all night.
Thanks Nagi for making me look like an amazing cook!
WOW! The sauce is awesome. The cookbook cannot come soon enough.
Amazing! So easy and tasted very authentic! Love all your recipes Nagi!
Great recipe. I will just add way less sugar next time when I make it. The 1/4 cup sugar made the satay sauce too sweet for me. Apart from that was a great recipe, very yummy and full of flavour.
I made these tonight from the book and hurried to your site to leave a 5 star review! Sensational and, dare I say, BETTER than our favourite Malaysian restaurant. My husband is still licking his lips.
I made big skewers and once they had a nice char going I popped them in the oven at 160 for 30 mins to cook through.
Thank you!
Game changer.
Oops forgot the star rating
As I don’t like to go and get one-off ingredients, I just used crunchy butter – sure not as smooth but I didn’t need to sprinkle added peanuts. – still tasted amazing
This recipe is an absolute winner! I have tried satay from many restaurants and this honestly is the best and also very affordable!
Although I accidently added water to the sauce in the beginning, it still turned out wonderful! (needed to cook a bit longer) Thankyou so much for this recipe!!
Everyone I’ve made this for loves this recipe. I don’t do skewers – just the chicken in satay sauce, and add carrots and Chinese broccoli. It’s 100% my favourite satay recipe I’ve ever tried.
OMG don’t bother with any other recipe for Satay because you will find no better than this recipe Absolutely delicious! Thanks Nagi on page 228 in her new cookbook
If you haven’t brought a copy then you are missing out on delicious recipes 👌👌