Great for a crowd or simple meal for two, chicken satays are an awesome dinner or appetizer option!
If serving for dinner, I like to pair these with a coconut rice, sautéd bok choy with shredded carrots, and crumbled peanuts with extra sauce on top. (simply cook the rice in 1/2 water and 1/2 coconut milk per the liquid requirements of your package instructions, if desired add some more coconut milk once finished cooking for extra creamy and sticky rice!).
As an appetizer, I like to keep on the skewers and serve the sauce on the side. As you can tell from this photo, once you add the sauce, it looks a bit messy. But gosh is it good!
The great thing about the recipe is the marinade. So you can make these the night before when you’re already cooking, or you can make them an hour before and they’re ready to be tossed on the grill quickly so you get the messy stuff out of the way if you’re entertaining. The sauce can also be made in advance and reheated if desired.
The Chicken
You can use whatever cut you like, thighs will be juicy and flavorful, but I like to use the chicken tenderloins that are easy to get at the supermarket. You can also use chicken breasts and cut them into cubes or strips. Do what’s best for you! If feeding a crowd, try to find the Greenwise organic value packs of the tenderloins. I think Perdue also has no-antibiotic all natural chicken with family size packs of this.
Special Ingredients
I get it – sometimes you don’t want to buy those specialty ingredients like lemon grass or curry paste. You don’t need to, but I do highly recommend them. However, if you’re cooking on a budget, use the orange curry powder you already have on hand (that is sort of a requirement but it’s so versatile you can use it in many other things, like my curry beurre blanc with salmon) and instead of using lemon grass add some orange or lemon zest to your sauce. It won’t be the same, but it will add a bit more complexity to your sauce.
The Recipe:
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PrintChicken Satays with Peanut Sauce
Easy and flavorful – nice as a smaller dinner item or as an appetizer for a crowd!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Additional Time: 20 minutes (optional)
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 Servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- Marinade
- 2 Chicken Breasts/6-8 tenderloins, cut into strips or cubed if desired (tenderloins can be kept whole)
- Skewers – pre-soaked if using on grill or 1/4 Cup of Coconut Milk (full fat recommended)
- 2 Tablespoon Yellow Curry Paste (ideally the stuff in the small tin can, but use what you can find!)
- 2 teaspoons Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon of Curry Powder
- Peanut Sauce:
- Remaining Can of Coconut Milk from above
- 1 Tablespoon Curry Paste
- 1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 2 each 3-4″ sticks of lemon grass, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 Lime, juiced
Instructions
- Combine all marinade ingredients except for the chicken, and mix well. Toss in chicken to fully coat and then skewer. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the sauce by combining all ingredients and cooking at a slow simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add water if necessary, 1 Tablespoon at a time, in order to thin out to desired consistency. Some peanut butters have more oil and water than others so it may depend based on your peanut butter. The sauce should be thick, but pourable.
- When ready to cook the skewers you can choose to grill them or pan sear them.
- If grilling, place on the grill and cook fully, turning once to get even cooking.
If pan searing, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and heat on medium heat until shimmering. Place skewers in pan and cook until they release easily and have a nice browning (cast iron skillets are great for this) then turn and finish cooking on the other side. - Plate and garnish with cilantro, chopped peanuts and serve with lots of sauce!
Keywords: Chicken, Peanut, Asian, Skewers, Easy Dinner, Quick Dinner, Dinner for 2, Dinner for Two, Weeknight Dinner,
This is so easy and delicious! Coconut rice is a great accompaniment! Making it again soon!
So glad you enjoyed it!