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……
First time making satay – yummy! Didn’t bother with skewers. Sauce tasted a bit too spicy on testing but was perfect with the chicken & rice. I’m a Vietnamese who never cooked any Asian until I discovered your site Nagi. Thank you for all your hardwork & easy recipes. x
So no shame. I have literally put this sauce on everything.. even fries and my hamburger!!! You are a magical food goddess. Period.
I finally got a chance to make the Thai Chicken Satay and it was so good that even my daughters told me to make sure I saved the recipe. The most picky, didn’t even use the peanut sauce we made. I made it with Ramen noodles and chicken recipe (without the chicken) and it worked just fine as a side dish though not as good as when I’d previously made it as a main course. Thanks a lot for the amazing recipes.
That’s awesome to hear Gordon!
This was incredibly delicious….my husband craves Thai food, and he begged me to put this recipe on the “keeper” list!! I’ll be making this again and again!! Thank you!
Terrific Lee Ann!
Hi Nagi, I inadvertently made the sauce recipe with coconut cream instead of milk.. the flavour is quite strong. Do you have a recommendation for how to correct this please? Many thanks..
Hi Marg, using coconut cream is totally fine but it will be thicker and more rich, you can just water it down with a tablespoon or two of water – N x
Thank you so much Nagi, the dish was exceptional. Others have said it, but for us, it was so much better than anything we’ve had from a restaurant. And it was pretty easy and quick to make. This will become a regular dinner treat. Love your recipes, thank you 😊
I made this satay on Tuesday night. I had nearly 2 kilos of Chicken Thighs which I had in the fridge so when I saw your recipe I thought I’ll give it a go without the skewers. I just doubled the ingredients and OMG it was the best. I phoned my sons to come for dinner but they both had plans, so I packed up containers and dropped off. They both text the next day to say it was the best.
Will definately be cooking this one again.
Thank you Nagi for all your recipes – I did heaps of them over Christmas and they were all a success.
You’re amazing – Love your work.
Cheers
Kerry
That’s such a great compliment!!! Thank you so much 🤗
Does the red curry paste make the chicken spicy? My kids can’t eat spicy
Hi Charmaine, yes it does make it slightly spicy as it has chilli in it – you can always reduce the amount if you like – N x
Such a lovely recipe. Hubby and daughter found the sauce too hot but I think my red curry paste was maybe a little more fiery than some brands. The chicken was delicious and the sauce was so authentic. I served it as a main course with stir fry veg and udon noodles – amazing, thank you.
You’ve done it again Nagi an absolute winner. Everyone sat around the dinner table devouring there satay sticks not saying a word. Then when all gone a voice pipes up and says “what no more” . Note to one’s self make double the batch next time. Thanks again Nagi lm definitely hooked
Since my husband has given up all forms of sugar/sweetener (including honey) for Lent, will this recipe and your others that have some sugar in them still taste okay if the sugar is omitted?
Hi Rene, it won’t taste quite the same but should still work, I find the sugar balances the flavours.
Hands down the best satay sauce!
Was a winner in my house.
I served it with your curry rice.
Nagi I love receiving your recipes
Your recipes are kept simple and are soooo delicious
Thanks so much for the awesome feedback Kylie!!
Hi Nagi,
Couls you swap tofu into this to make it vegetarian? When I lived in Toronto, there was a thai restaurant that made the most delicious tofu satay– as you said, it didn’t even need the peanut sauce, it was that good (I feel I should note my insatiable love of good peanut sauce for some reason though)! I have yet to find anywhere in the 10 years since that restaurant closed that even comes close to making a half decent tofu satay, so I’m hoping your answer is “yes, swap away!”.
Are there any other modifications I would need to make?
Thank you!
Becca
Tofu would be AMAZING done like this!!!! Just use firm tofu!
Thank you Nagi!
Thank you so much for the recipe! I just made it @“! It’s the best chicken satay ever made, easy and yummy . The sauce is delicious, My husband enjoyed very much :3
Wahoo, I’m so happy it’s a hit!! Thanks for the feedback Winnie ❤️
BEST EVER !!!!! Thank you soooo much ! Took longer to cook the meat on my pan – about 10 – 15 minutes to get the crispy and slightly charcoal taste. xxx
Hi Val, terrific to hear that you loved it, sorry it took a bit longer in the pan but it’s so worth it!!!
Just made this recipe last night! It tasted absolutely delicious. It took me a while to cook the meat evenly on the skewers. Next time could i just dump it all in the pan and cook them that way? The skewers would be fun for a party or something like that though. Sauce was SO yummy as well!!
Hi Jacquelyn, you definitely can skin the whole skewer step!
As usual a delicious recipe! I used a local Thai red chili paste. I think next time I’ll use less sugar in the peanut sauce (personal preference). The kids ate it up!
Hi Claire, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, just cut back on the sugar if you found it too sweet ❤️
Love it. Chicken was good. Not sure about the sauce. Can taste very strong cider vinegar. Seems very overpowering
Hi Linda, I’m so glad you love it but that doesn’t sound right about the sauce, you should barely taste it – it should just balance the flavours. It could simply be the brand used, just cut down on it if you make it in future ❤️
WOW this was so good – i think I added too much red curry paste as it was a tad spicy but thats how we like it ! this will definatley be a favorite, i doubled the mix so we now have a yummy lunch too 🙂
The Power Station just came to mind singing “some like it hot…” 😂 I’m so glad you loved it!
I’m swooning in flavor!
Thank you for this recipe, Nagi!
I couldn’t make this right away after putting the chicken in the marinade (had to run out of town for a few days) so I threw the bag of chicken in the freezer hoping that flavors would just be bigger by the time I had time to cook it.
Oh boy was I right. I’m in my happy place of flavors!!
Yes, leftover peanut sauce will not go to waste. I’m making lettuce wraps next.
Oh and although I didn’t use the brand of red curry paste you mentioned I did find it later at a store here in the US. I bought both the red and green and it will be a staple in my pantry.
Thanks again, Stacey
I’m so glad you tried it and loved it Stacey, I’m a sucker for anything satay!!
Absolutly delicious! Had to make my own peanut butter, but so easy and quick- no bother at all! Not much peanut sauce left here 🙂! Too good. Thank you so much, Nagi for another great recipe!
Woot! I’m so happy you loved it Mady!!!