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……
Loved this recipe. So simple & sooo tasty. Was a bit spicy for the kids so I will reduce the amount of red curry paste for the sauce next time. All your recipes are amazing 😉
Hi Nagi, thanks for the recipe. This recipe is terrific. I normally cook satay with various Indonesian recipes and they are absolutely great as well. When I saw your recipe, it was completely different but I was very curious how come the end result looked very similar. Driven by curiosity, I made the satay with your recipe and it was fantastic, bring a new level on how satay can taste like. Btw, I use the real peanut paste that I made myself when cooking with your recipe.
I’m so glad you gave it a go and loved it Albert! N x
Hi Nagi we love this recipe can I use this recipe for chicken wings ?? Regards TRacey
Hi Tracey, you sure can! N x
This is absolutely scrummy!!! I was a tad heavy handed with the red paste in the sauce and it had a kick! Really delicious and would make a lovely little appetiser on small sticks.
Just amazing!!! My husband said it was delicious and better than our regular Thai restaurant. It’s really easy to make and quick to prepare at dinner as the chicken is already marinated. I cooked the sauce in the Thermomix as well as it saved me from stirring on the stove. Thanks for such an amazing recipe Nagi!
I cooked this tonight and the peanut sauce was spot on! I have made so many peanut sauces over the years- they were all missing something. I even took a Thai cooking class and it had so many ingredients and I still thought the sauce was not amazing, but I have found the perfect sauce here-thank you Nagi! Who knew this delicious sauce was actually made with so few ingredients?! (And NO lime!) I signed up for your emails and I plan on checking out/cooking more of your recipes! Nice to “meet” you Nagi!
Smashing! Absolutely smashing!
Today I had a luncheon for my gal pals b4 our kids are home for school holidays. Did a Thai feast using all your recipes. These satay skewers were a hit and the satay sauce used liberally on everything! It was so easy to make yet packed full of flavour. We also had your Thai lettuce cups, pad thai (with prawns not chicken), Thai coconut chicken thighs, coconut rice and Asian salad. Thanks for a great selection of recipes that were loved by all.
Amazing. Our fab Thai place is an hour away and can only have very rarely. This satay makes a perfect substitute if not better!
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Sam! N x
OMG! This is so delicious and ridiculously easy, thankyou! I’ve made a few of your recipes and love love love them. I love how you offer substitutes. Amazing 🙂
Thanks so much Kathy!! N x
This was absolutely delicious, Thank you for the recipe:-)
You’re so welcome Nikki, thanks so much for the feedback! N x
This was a-may-zing!!!!! You are a food artiste. I’ve been making my way through your recipes (which are all super delicious), and what I love the most is how I’m learning to cook things at home that I thought I could only get at restaurants. When I took the first bite of chicken chow mein, I was floored. Oh. My. God. I made this! Me!
This chicken satay was the same way. Never in a million years thought I could pull something like this off. My boyfriend practically inhaled it–said it was BETTER than restaurant quality.
Thank you SO MUCH for all these fantastic recipes! My absolute favorite recipe resource now.
That’s so nice to hear Anna, thanks so much for taking the time to give me such great feedback! N x
The best satay recipe! I added about a cup of unsalted peanuts crushed to it and Wowee! Thank you!
Hi Nagi! I am so excited to make this, but wanted to know if I can sub the red curry paste for maesri green curry paste?
Hi Monica, green has a different flavour, but yes you could! N x
As usual with recipes on this website, I use twice the amount of meat (for lunch and dinner for my family and me), but the same amount of sauce, and it’s still plenty and absolutely delicious. This sauce is sooo yummy.
A great recipe! Have just finished eating and it was delicious. Very easy to make as well. I used skippy extra smooth peanut butter as couldnt get natural and it was very tasty.
Perfect Jen! N x
Hi! Would this work for satay chicken and rice as a sort of simmer sauce?
Would love to give it a go
Hi Jessie, it’s a little thick for that – you could water down with a little coconut milk or try this one: https://salesdock.info/satay-peanut-sauce-for-stir-fries/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thank you Nagi, these were absolutely perfect and the best ever peanut sauce. We cooked them on a small charcoal cooker so got the full charcoal flavour and I made a double batch of sauce and froze the leftovers. I’ve been trying for years to find the perfect sauce and this is the bomb. I cook all of your recipes and have never been disappointed. Give dozer a pat from me. X
I made this and love it…but unfortunately l am not much of a reader and used Begga peanut butter and l agree think nature makes a big difference..next time l will read the pointers.🤭🤣
Nagi, you are an absolute legend!! All your recipes are fantastic and easy to follow, but this 100% was the stand out! This is the best tasting satay sauce I have tasted and I cannot believe how easy you have made it! Thank you so much, please keep your recipes coming!!!
I agree she’s legend 🙂