Chicken Satay

Name: Chicken Satay
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 284 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 6); 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts; ⅓ cup light brown sugar; 6 tablespoons soy sauce; ¼ stalk lemongrass, chopped (about 3 inch piece); 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 makrut lime leaves, chopped (OR 1 lime, zested and juiced); 1 tablespoon minced ginger; 1 tablespoon turmeric; ¼ teaspoon curry powder; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided; ⅓ cup reserved marinade; ¼ cup dry roasted peanuts; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce; 1 lime, zested and juiced; 1 to 3 Thai chiles, seeded (depending on desired heat); 1 garlic clove, chopped; 1 green onion, thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons crushed peanuts; cilantro leaves

by Jenny Park · Published: May 21, 2021 · Modified: Jun 3, 2021

Jump to Recipe

A simple and delicious recipe for juicy, char-grilled, flavor packed Chicken Satay with an equally delicious peanut dipping sauce! They make great appetizers or even a delicious dinner served with some steamed rice and simple cucumber salad!

Chicken satay recipe with a peanut sauce on a platter.

Chicken Satay is one of my favorite skewered meats to eat! The flavors are outrageously good and pair so well with the creamy and tangy peanut sauce! We use chicken thighs in our recipe to ensure every bite is tender and juicy and chicken thighs are also a little more forgiving when it comes to cooking them up.

Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients, most of the ingredients are easy to find or you probably have them in your pantry. Once you have the ingredients gathered and measured, the recipe is SO easy!

What is Chicken Satay?

Chicken Satay originated in Indonesia but has become a popular dish throughout Southeast Asia in other countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines. Although there are tons of varieties of satay that exist today, to be considered true satay there must be a grilled meat and dipping sauce component.

What Does Chicken Satay Taste Like?

As we mentioned, there are many varieties of satay that exist today but our marinade uses flavors that include peanuts, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, soy sauce, limes, and brown sugar. The results are a sweet, bright and savory peanut and char-grilled flavor with a similar, but more peanut forward dipping sauce with a kick (from Thai chiles).

Chicken satay recipe with some plated on the side.

How to Make our Chicken Satay Recipe

Process

CHICKEN SATAY

Place all marinade ingredients into a blender, except 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, and blend until smooth.Reserve ⅓ cup of marinade for peanut sauce.

Pour remaining marinade over chicken. Toss together until all chicken pieces are completely covered. Allow mixture to marinate for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight).

Chicken satay marinade in a bowl with chicken.

Soak wood skewers. Skewer 5 to 6 cubes of chicken onto each bamboo skewer, until all chicken has been used.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat (or use an outdoor grill on medium heat setting). Pour oil into pan and grill skewers for 4 minutes, on each side. Repeat until all skewers have been grilled.
Top chicken satay skewers with crushed peanuts and cilantro leaves.

Cooked skewers grilled resting on a platter.

Chicken satay on a platter with lime wedges.

SPICY PEANUT SAUCE

Chicken satay sauce ingredients on a kitchen counter.

Place all ingredients for peanut sauce into a blender and blend until smooth. (If sauce is too thick, blend some water into the sauce, ½ tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency has been achieved). Pour mixture into a small bowl or ramekin, top with crushed peanuts (optional) and serve as dipping sauce for satay.

Tools You Will Need

What to Serve with Chicken Satay

When served as an appetizer, its best to serve the skewers on their own with the dipping sauce to keep things simple. When using as the main course we love serving them with steamed jasmine or basmati rice and a simple cucumber salad (especially sunomono, a Japanese cucumber salad).

They’re also delicious with Yum Woon Sen, a bright and refreshing glass noodle salad dish!

Cooking Tips for Chicken Satay

We love using a grill or grill pan to cook our satay because it really gives it a great char-grilled flavor that takes this dish over the top! If you don’t have a grill or grill pan you can still cook them in a pan. If you have a cast iron skillet, it’s the next best thing as you’ll still get charred bits of chicken.

You can also broil the skewers for a few minutes on each side, but you’ll need to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t burn. The oven is also an option for cooking these skewers. If baking the chicken satay in the oven we recommend baking them at 400˚F for 15 to 20 minutes.