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……
Wow, this recipe has become one of my favourites by a mile. Since trying it for the first time, it’s now on the weekly menu and family/friends can’t get enough of it. The sauce is amazing and this dish goes great with homemade special fried rice.
So delicious! I didn’t read the recipe carefully enough to see that the peanut sauce was way more than needed – although I realized that after combining all the items in a pot. I’d like to use up what’s left of the peanut sauce, but I don’t want to crack a whole new can of coconut milk just to take a 1/4 cup to marinade the chicken. Is it possible to substitute the coconut milk in the marinade, or marinade without coconut milk?
I made double the quantity 24 hours ahead of time as the savoury element of a baby shower menu. It was amazing. Tasty, tender and just the right amount of spicy. The guests loved it and I was happy to share that it was a Recipe Tin Eats recipe. I think mare will be making this delicious dish.
Making this this evening and wondering if I can cook the whole batch of skewers in the oven? I don’t have a pan big enough for the skewers to fit properly in. I will probably try and see if it does work!
For my vegetarian friends, I use all the same ingredients replacing chicken for veggies and comes out a real treat aswell
Nice, which veggies worked well for you? Thinking of doing a tofu version to cater
WOW, WOW, WOW. Nagi you have done it once again. Definitely adding this one to the rotation. I was in love.
This was great! I made it along with the beef satay skewers and your avocado & cucumber salad for a great dinner party.
It was SO easy to prep almost everything the day before: cut and marinate the meat, make the sauce, and even the rice can be cooked ahead and reheated if you want. Then you have a pretty clean kitchen when your guests arrive.
Ohhhh my days! This is SO GOOD! I couldn’t be bothered putting it on skewers but that meant it was a bit of a pain to cook – turning all those little pieces. Ugh. Will probs not be lazy next time! So so good!
This is delicious! You could put that peanut sauce on anything and it would be amazing! It makes a large quantity so I have to keep thinking of things to put it on!
I love it at restaurants so why not? I substituted sriracha chili sauce with a little coriander, fresh ginger and curry instead of red curry paste and reduced the water. It was wonderful!
Another winner. Thank you. The kids loved it and so did I. The peanut sauce I messed up and it still tasted great. Another great thing about your website is the ads don’t overwhelm the recipe. Thank you for being a professional and a gifted chef!
Thank you Nagi I love Thai food but it looks too intimidating to try to prepare myself. This came out tasty and was easy to make.
OMG This was amazing, I marinated the chicken for 24 hours and it had so much flavour. The whole family loved it. I didn’t use skewers.
I made this again today but didn’t have red curry paste, but didn’t realise until the last minute! I used Thai green curry paste and it tasted wonderful, not authentic Nagi but good enough. The sauce is a family favourite so the rest will go into little bags in the freezer for next time.
Omg Nagi you rock. I made this last night for Hubs and I and it was like we ate restaurant quality food from home in our PJs. It made heaps of extra satay sauce too… so I’m going to enjoy a lot of things with a twist of satay this week.
Not realising you had a recipe for the Vietnamese satay sauce used in rice rolls, I made the sauce earlier in the week 😋 👌 and then had to try try it with the right recipe… satay chicken
Tasty. My kids like it too.
I’m a big lover of peanut butter. This recipe is amazing. Marinated the chicken thigh overnight. Cooked it on the grill pan on the stove. Perfectly cooked and juicy and that sauce is worth gold.
Nagi, you forgot to add the coconut milk from the video to your recipe for the marinade. Thanks for this delicious satay skewers!
Hi, I would love to make this however my daughter and i hate spicy food, usually i just omit the spice for us. but i feel like this will ruin the flavour, is there any substitute for the red curry paste?
Hi Colleen,
If you haven’t tried it yet, I really encourage you to try it. Maybe just put a small amount of curry paste in..it’s not hot/spicy even with the amount Nagi calls for.
This is one of my go to recipes. (In fact a lot of my go to recipes are Nagi’s).
This looks AMAZING and can’t wait to try it. Thanks for so generously sharing your recipes and skills with all of us.
Quick question, Wanting to make this for a crowd this weekend – about 36 hours BEFORE grilling. How long can the chicken marinade before breaking down or tasting gummy (if that makes sense)?
Thanks and blessings in advance.