Chicken Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce Recipe (2024)

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What is Chicken Satay?

Grilled chicken satay with Thai peanut sauce is inspired by a very popular Southeast Asian dish. Chicken satay is essentially a dish of seasoned, skewered, and grilled meats, served with dipping sauces. This recipes is not authentic by any means (I’ve added my own interpretation), but it does use a blend of typical Asian spices/flavors that you may find in chicken satay and peanut sauce.

Before this recipe, I had never prepared anything with curry or turmeric. Two unique, bright yellow spices that have spicy, herbal, and very aromatic qualities. I love the combo of spices because it feels so different than my typical cooking style. Almost to the point where I feel like I’m not eating my own home cooked meal (I mean that in a good way).

Start your meal with some classic crab rangoon. Add more skewers to the plate with chicken teriyaki, and fill out your plate with fried rice. I love to make a bunch of dishes from a cuisine to really get a good taste.

What is Thai Peanut Sauce?

Thai peanut sauce is made with peanut butter, water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and Sriracha. It’s all blended together to form a rich creamy sauce with sweet and savory characteristics.

Peanut sauce serves as the perfect complement to the ginger, turmeric, and curry marinade used on the chicken. The sauce is certainly not overly sweet. It’s like a less sweet peanut butter with spicier, garlicky notes.

Soak Wooden Skewers

If you’re using wooden skewers, always soak in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling to prevent from burning too much. Serve skewers drizzled with plenty of chimichurri sauce and extra on the side. I guarantee you’ll be scraping the bottom of the chimichurri bowl by the end of the meal.

How to Make Chicken Satay Skewers

It’s all in the marinade. For best results, marinate the chicken in the blend of spices and oils overnight in a Ziploc bag. At a bare minimum, you need to marinate for at least 1 hour. The more time, the more the flavors and spices will soak into the chicken. Toss on the grill and sear until golden and fully cooked through.

This recipe is the perfect excuse to fire up the grill for something unique and delicious. Chicken satay is definitely out of the realm of things I typically cook but that’s exactly what I love about it!

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