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……
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!!!
Made these last night. So good. Heaps of sauce left over so am using that with some really good commercial spring rolls. Everyone was very impressed with the recipe.
Yum! I could drink this sauce on tap 😂
OMG thank you so much for this Chicken Satay recipe..I made it exactly to your instructions including the ingredient brands and it was the best ever…I had these in Malaysia years ago and never been able to find anything even close in restaurants here in Oz or in London where I lived before….even Thailand didn’t do it for me..I kept thinking I must have imagined how good they were or I had gone off them.. but nope…these are what I remember…My hubby agrees with me too…definitely going to make them for my family when they visit from NZ ..thanx again Nagi…I give you 20 stars 🙂 Oh I cooked them in my new airfryer btw came out beautful….would love it if you could give times etc for any other recipes suitable for air frying….thanx…
HIGH praise!!! 🙂 I’m so pleased to hear that Isaac – and I totally know what you mean, I’ve had my share of mediocre Thai Satay! N x
Oh my goodness- these were insanely good. I have not heard so many ohhhs and ahhs around the table in a long time – thank you.
Master 8 thought they were a little too spicy for his delicate taste buds, is there any way to make them a little less ‘bitey’ for kids? I did you Charmaine Solomon’s red curry paste as this is what I had on hand, perhaps this was the problem?!?
Hi!! Red curry paste does have chilli in it which would be the cause – also check to ensure you used a MILD curry powder, not hot. Then you can reduce the red curry paste in the sauce – just start with a very small amount then add the most you can without making it too hot for him. Red curry is a key flavour in the sauce so if you really can’t use much at all, I’d suggest making the sauce with the minimum amount for Master 8, then take out some for him and add more paste for everyone else! N xx
I made this today and it is ridiculously good,Good god,that sauce….wow.I marinaded the chicken overnight as directed,the sauce has a great wee kick, amazing snack,superb!!
Nagi.. you single handedly have made me neglect all my cookbooks,for some time now…and I love it😂
Keep em coming girl.
Have a great day 👍
Phil.
That’s so great to hear Phil! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much!! N xx
Just made the satay chicken skewers and they were insanely delicious, so Moorish you almost can’t stop eating them.
LOVE hearing that Pauline!!! Reading messages like this makes all the versions I made “just to be sure” totally worth it! There’s been serious peanut sauce overload around here 🙂 N x
OMG another winner! This is a keeper. Made it tonight and everyone said it was awesome. AND so easy to make. Thank you Nagi.
AWESOME!!! So glad you enjoyed it so much Virginia, thanks for letting me know! N x
If cooking chicken sate in a pan, why use skewers – I would tend to fry the chicken ‘cubes’ directly in the pan. Does this make any difference?
Hi Wendy! You can totally skip the skewering to save time 🙂 Makes no difference to flavour, it’s just the presentation – because it’s always served on skewers in Thailand! N x
Why aren’t you on TV? 😉 I made these last night and they were amazing. I used dark roast smooth peanut butter and the sauce was perfect. Have lots leftover to freeze for another meal. Loving all your recipes Nagi and your writing is so engaging. I forgot to serve rice and it didn’t even matter.
TV? Can you IMAGINE Dozer running around with all those cables everywhere?? 😂 Truthfully, there were some early discussions. But to be honest, it’s hard for me to justify the time, it would really take me away from here (the website) which is my home that I love! N x
Can’t wait to make this – it looks and sounds delicious – like ALL your recipes!
Hope you get a chance to try it Annette! N x
Oh my god!!! That peanut sauce looks amazing!! Love love LOVE chicken satay and this looks the best recipe! Cant wait to try!
Hope you get a chance!
Absolutely delicious! And I love the way you always use the most basic ingredients. None of this palm sugar / coconut sugar / rock sugar / black sugar nonsense but plain old white sugar. Thank you for yet another wonderful meal.
I hear you Anne. I always try to pick when it matters and when it doesn’t. Sugar – doesn’t matter. Peanut butter – yes it does! 🙂 N x
What part of chicken is “tenderloin”?
It’s the inner filet of the breast. The part commonly made into chicken fingers or chicken tenders.
💯 N x
Just made this for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious! Used chicken thighs and Bega’s 100% nut crunchy peanut butter, Side salad with sesame and citrus dressing. Perfect for a 33C night! Will freeze leftover satay for salad dressing for another meal. Love your recipes Nagi.
That’s so great to hear Andrew!! Enjoy that leftover sauce for days to come 🙂 You could also make the satay seasoning in the Satay Chicken Curry recipe on my site that does not require coconut milk or curry paste, and serve it with the sauce! N x