Satay skewers: the benchmark of authentic Thai food! Think deeply marinated chicken with a peanut sauce thatโs 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 Riceย , Pad See Ew or Thai Chilli Basil Stir Fry!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook โDinnerโ!
Thai Chicken Satay skewers
At the risk of sounding totally obnoxious โ 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 willย just know they are going to taste amazing.
Then you have a taste of the peanut dipping sauceโฆโฆ and youโll just shake your head, wonderingย how the heck can something so simple taste so good??!!
Or you might be thinking โย OMG, I finally cracked it, this tastes EXACTLY like the authentic Chicken Satay I had in Thailand!!! Oh wait, maybe thatโs just in my head. ๐
What goes in Chicken Satay and Thai Peanut Sauce
It might surprise you how few ingredients go in Chicken Satay and the peanut sauce! Hereโs what you need:
The BEST Thai Red Curry Paste
Thai Red Curry paste is a โsecret ingredientโ in both the marinade and the sauce. You just need about 2.5 tbsp which doesnโt sound like much, but we donโt want this to taste of red curry. Weโre just using it as a flavour enhancer.
While Iโm 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, atย around $1.30 per can at major supermarketsย like Coles, Woolies and Harris Farms.
How to make Thai Peanut Sauce
Thai Peanut Sauce is almost unbelievably simple to make. Itโs 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 aย really great authentic Thai Peanut Sauce that truly stacks up to your favourite Thai restaurant, useย pure peanut butter.ย Youโll find it in the health food section of most supermarket nowadays.
Pure peanut butter is made with JUST peanuts โ no sugar, oil or other additives โ so theย peanut flavour is stronger.
Also, natural peanut butter is thinner than commercial peanut butter spreads (see below) which means you needย less water to thin the sauce =ย better peanutย 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 confirmย this!
Iโm 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
Hereโs what you need for the Thai Chicken Satay Marinade:
Chicken pieces โย chicken thighs yield the juiciest chicken skewers but breast or tenderloin are fine
Red curry paste โ see above for my recommended brandย Maesri
Curry powder โ any is fine here
Coconut milk
sugar
cooking salt / kosher salt โ halve the quantity if you only have table salt which is finer. So 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt = 1/2 tsp table salt.
Itโs 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 itโs done in Thailand!
Thai Chicken Satay is a popular starter on Thai restaurants menus along with Thai Fish Cakes. But itโs also ideal served as a main. Serve it with steamed jasmine rice โ or with fluffy Asian Coconut Riceย (itโs amazing!). Or go all out withย Thai Fried Riceย orย Pineapple Fried Rice!
For aย fresh side salad, try this Asian Slaw, or use this Asian Sesame Dressing for a fresh saladย 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,ย 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 Iโve made this recipe so itโs accessible to everyday cooks โ without compromising! ๐
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 / 6.5โณ long (Note 1)
Marinade:
- 600 g / 1.2lb chicken thighs , boneless skinless, cut into 2cm/4/5โณ 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 โ 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 โ 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 โ 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,ย Peanut Noodle Saladย or Sesame Noodles
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
He thought I said PELICAN satayโฆโฆ
First and foremost, Dozer looks content and well. If I was to be honest, I was not sure about the Thai Peanut Sauce. I was totally surprised. Absolutely perfect. I had some store bought Thai Peanut Sauce, The ingredients were so poor, I threw it away. Thank you for another amazing recipe.
I am a huge fan of your work, and I love your recipes in general, because they work so well. This Thai chicken satay is even better than the one my indonesian ex girlfriend used to prepare! My kids requested so often that I have gotten to the point of making it as a stir fry โ and honestly, it tastes just as delicious, and only takes about half the time.
Absolutely love this, a staple in our house. We always end up with way more sauce then what is needed so we portion it out and freeze it.
This is my favourite Nagi recipe of all. I donโt bother about the skewers, just serve in half thigh size pieces. The sauce is incredible. My partner even had it on ice cream ๐คฃ
I made this with a few healthy changes. I will not use full fat coconut milk-too much trans fat for me so I substituted low fat coconut milk and did NOT add any water to peanut sauce and it was PERFECT! If you want more coconut flavor a few drops of coconut oil would work.
Then for chicken after marinating I rolled in Panko and cooked in the air fryer. Wow!! Truly amazing!!
Thanks for a new favorite recipe!!
Itโs very rare that I can find a recipe my whole family will eat. This was very popular with fussy kids and husbands
Perfect, I will definitely make this again and again!
Delicious! The kids were begging for seconds which rarely happens
Made it. Loved it. Made it againโฆand again!
The most amazing Satay chicken I have ever tasted. The sauce is next level!!
Oh I have tried thisโฆ.. 1000x!
It is THAT good!!!!
Quick, easy, flavorful. What more needs to be said?!
I have lost count of the number of times I have used this recipe. Itโs mostly to impress guests as part of a Thai banquet meal (I also do a Thai slow cooked beef cheeks) and your pineapple fried rice Nagi. I have also lost count of the number of times I have had draw on all my might and willpower not to just give up on the prepping for guests and sit on the couch with the saucepan of sauce and just spoon it all in my mouth. Itโs just the best.
Oh yes! This is a favorite in our house for sure! The flavor is thru the roof! Better than any restaurant. It makes a lot of peanut sauce, so I freeze the extra for the next time.
Definitely the BEST peanut sauce !!!
This is one of our favorites, last time we made coconut rice and made a bowl the chicken, satay, rice and added mango and cilantro, oh my it was fabulous,
First time making it, and my husbandโs keto. I used allulose instead of the sugar (did about 1.3x the amount listed for sugar), and it worked great! Very tasty and easy. I also used a toaster oven at 390 degrees F for about 18 minutes and they had a little bit of char on them too!
This is THE best recipe of any sort I have ever tried! My husband and I are obsessed with the peanut sauce and make it at least once a week โ itโs the perfect accompaniment to this chicken satay, as well as fresh spring rolls, air frier cauliflower bites, a bowl of rice noodlesโฆ itโs hard not to just eat it all by itself! Thank you Nagi, your website is my go-to for recipes of all kinds!
I made the peanut sauce as written and used the recipe to flavor some firm tofu before putting it in the air fryer. Served with rice and broccoli. Amazing sauce, Iโm instantly transported to getting chicken satay at my favorite Thai restaurant. Thank you!
Omg. Just yes. I followed the recipe exactly and itโs exactly what everyone else said. Seriously insanely scrumptious! Only thing I tweaked โ I only had crunchy peanut butter which worked amazingly! No notes!
This recipe is a new fave in my house. I cooked this today but instead of skewers I left the thighs whole and baked them in the oven for 30mins on 180 and were absolutely delicious. My question is- the juice that came off the thighs seems too cook to throw away. I drizzled some over the rice but do we think I could have mixed the chicken juice into the satay sauce? Thanks
Hi Olivia, you would LOVE Nagiโs new recipe for baked satay chicken in the Tonight cookbook! It is even easier and tastier- and those delicious roasting juices cook straight into the sauce!
Delicious! This is a definite favourite of our family. I canโt get my satay sauce to be the same colour as yours but tastes good.