Thai Chicken Satay Skewers

These Thai Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce are juicy, flavorful and easy to make! Juicy, because they’re marinated overnight in a simple, sweet and tangy marinade which gives them that iconic char without drying out! And that creamy peanut sauce is intoxicating! Perfect for serving as party finger food or as a satisfyingly tasty weeknight meal, this pairs perfect with a crispy green salad! Serve them year round by grilling indoors or outdoors, it doesn’t matter, these are so delicious!

If you don’t believe me, my sisters words:

Omg, I would never say no to chicken satay skewers they’re so addictive!

 I know she might be biased and we did grow up together so the chances are we’d both love this recipe, but honestly, try these, the flavors are so amazing for something that’s so easy to make!

If you’re looking for more delicious chicken recipes, try my Easy Grilled Chicken, My Greek Chicken Souvlakia or my Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders!

But what are Thai Chicken Satay Skewers?

In essence they’re marinaded chicken on a stick sometimes, (but often) served with a deliciously creamy peanut sauce. Now I will be the first to admit that this is by no-means an authentic satay, I’ve made some small changes to suit my likes, but it’s an overall similar recipe to a Thai Chicken Satay Skewer! I mean it has all the basic delicious flavors!

The satay marinade is made of salty soy sauce and fish sauce, get’s it’s sweetness from brown sugar and tanginess from lime. It often has chili paste in it too but we’re sooks in our house and don’t do spicy. The marinade also has turmeric in it which helps give it that nice yellow color and deep earthy flavor.

The peanut sauce is made with natural peanut butter (helps make a nicer sauce and is nuttier in flavor) it’s salty, slightly sweet and has a hint of heat from the curry sauce that even I can withstand.

Why you’ll love these Satay Skewers!

• Easy to make!
• Eays to serve as finger food!
• Juicy
• Flavorful!

Ingredients You Need To Make Satay Chicken Skewers

Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page – just scroll down to the bottom, or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.

Satay Chicken – sweet, tangy and juicy!

• Chicken breast – you can also use chicken thighs for this. You want to cut them into long strips. Marinading ahead of time is the best way to get juicy flavorful chicken skewers!
• Coconut milk – use skim if you can, but full fat is ok. Also, be sure to use coconut ‘milk’ and not ‘cream’ which is much much thicker.
• Soy sauce – use light soy sauce for a lighter salt flavor. You can use regular too if you like. Dark soy sauce will result in a really dark marinade and your skewers won’t have that nice yellow color these are known for.
• Brown sugar – helps give these a subtle sweetness. It also gives you that nice, charred look too!
• Lime juice – be sure to use fresh limes here!
• Fish sauce – is where these chicken skewers get all their saltiness. A little goes a long way so only use 1 tbsp.
• Coriander powder – helps gives you a delicious depth of earthiness.
• Garlic powder – gives you all the flavor you want from garlic, minus the burnt taste when cooking these skewers.
• Onion powder – helps give it a slight sweetness.
• Turmeric – helps give this an earthy flavor and gives it iconic yellow color!
• Chili paste – I’m not big on spicy food but you can use this or chili flakes if you love a bit of heat!

Peanut Sauce – thick, creamy and salty!

• Coconut milk – this helps give it a lovely coconut flavor.
• Water – use the amount stated in the recipe, but you can use more for a thinner sauce after you’ve made it.
• Natural peanut butter – this is peanut butter with no added oil, salt or sugar (or anything else) it’s 100% peanuts. It makes a better sauce. You can use crunchy or smooth natural peanut butter.
• Brown sugar – helps give this a hint of sweetness.
• Soy sauce – use light and not dark soy sauce.
• Fish sauce – helps give the sauce a good boost of saltiness.
• Lime – use fresh lime juice!
• Curry powder – I don’t like using anything spicy when cooking. Curry powder has chili in it but it’s such a minimal amount you can barely tell its there. What the curry powder does is add loads of flavor. Not traditional, but so yum!

How to make Satay Chicken Skewers!

Slice the chicken breast.

Marinade overnight in the fridge (or minimum of two hours)

Thread through skewers (metal ones if grilling on an open flame)

Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes! Serve with sauce!

Make the peanut dipping sauce by placing in a pot, bringing to a bubble and stirring until thickened!

Tips and Tricks For Recipe Success!

• Peanut sauce – can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Heat back up and add a little water to thin out to a dipping consistency. I like mine thick!
• Marinating your chicken is a must! It gives you a juicy chicken with flavor that soaks right through!
• Use metal skewers if grilling outdoors on an open flame.
• Use other meats like pork or beef to make these!
• Use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 75C / 165F. I’ve been cooking chicken for a while now so I can usually tell without using a thermometer #humblebrag

Frequently Asked Questions about Satay Chicken Skewers

What does it taste like?

Sweet, tangy and salty with a slightly charred flavor from the brown sugar in the chicken marinade. The sauce is nutty, creamy and salty!

How do I store this?

Store cooked chicken in the fridge for up to 3 days. Peanut sauce can be made about a day in advance.

Can I use other meats?

Yep! Pork or beef would work well. Just make sure they’re cooked properly.

Can I skip the marinading time?

The marinading does two things. It makes the chicken juicy and tender and also helps flavor it right through., The minimum amount of tie I would recommend is 2 hours but ideally overnight!

Gave this a go? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!

 More chicken recipes!

• Chicken And Broccoli Stir-Fry

• Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders

• Chicken Piccata

• Chicken Souvlaki

• Crispy Chicken Schnitzel

• Easy Grilled Chicken

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @thescranline on Facebook and Instagram!

Thai Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce

Thai Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce are so juicy, flavorful, perfectly charred and make a perfect indoor or outdoor grill crowd pleaser!

Serves 3

5 from 1 vote

Author: Nick Makrides

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 37 minutes mins

Course: Apetizers

Cuisine: Thai

Calories: 939kcal

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Ingredients

Chicken

• ▢ 1.2 lbs / 1 kg chicken breast, or thigh, sliced into strips (see notes)
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 60 ml coconut milk, from tin (not coconut cream)
• ▢ 2 tbsp light soy sauce, must be light soy sauce!
• ▢ 2 tbsp brown sugar, or 1 tbsp white
• ▢ 1 lime, juiced
• ▢ 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ▢ 1 tsp coriander powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• ▢ 1 tbsp chili paste, optional, I didn’t add it in the video

Peanut Sauce

• ▢ 1/2 cup / 125 ml coconut milk, from tin (not coconut cream)
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 1 cup / 240 g natural peanut butter, (see notes)
• ▢ 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ 2 tbsp light soy sauce, use dark if you have it
• ▢ 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ▢ 1 lime, juiced
• ▢ 1 tsp curry powder, optional

To Serve

• ▢ crushed peanuts, to sprinkle
• ▢ fresh coriander, chopped
• ▢ lime wedges
• ▢ freshly steamed rice, optional
• ▢ sliced cucumber, optional

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Instructions

Chicken

• Slice your chicken into strips and add to a mixing bowl. Add the marinade ingredients and mix to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge to marinade for a minimum of 2 hours. Overnight is best for extra juicy, tasty chicken skewers.
• Once marinaded, place on chicken skewers. About 4-5 pieces on each skewer depending on size of the skewer. Don’t overcrowd and keep in the mind the thicker the chicken on the skewer, the longer it will take to cook through to the middle.
• Heat up 1 tbsp of peanut oil or vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet. Cook skewers in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden and you reach an internal temperature of 75C / 165F.

Peanut sauce

• Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and heat on medium low heat until it begins to simmer. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes. It will begin to thicken. If you feel it’s too thick, thin out with 1/4 cup of water until it’s pourable but still thick.
• Serve with extra peanuts on top, coriander and with rice or salad.

Notes

Chicken
Which chicken to use – chicken thighs will be juicier for this recipe and are less likely to dry out while cooking but chicken breast will also work.
Where to buy – Buy your chicken from a fresh food market or good butcher and not a supermarket as their chicken is pumped full of a lot of things to keep it fresh for longer which means its not fresh at all.
Marinading chicken – It’s important to marinade your chicken overnight for a flavorful chicken skewer! It also helps tenderize the chicken and makes it softer and juicier!
Cooking chicken – chicken can be cooked on a skillet indoors or on a bbq grill! To make sure chicken is cooked through use a thermometer to check that it’s reached an internal temperature of 75C / 165F.

Peanut Butter – this recipe needs natural peanut butter which is different from regular peanut butter. Natural peanut butter is only ground up peanuts with no added salt or sugar. Can use crunchy or smooth.

Serving suggestion – serve with fluffy steamed rice! So freaking delicious. Also goes well with a crispy salad if it’s warmer weather.

Storage – Chicken skewers can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to three days cooked or uncooked skewers can be frozen on a single layer and then wrapped in plastic for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge and then cook if uncooked or heat up on a skillet. Sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Nutrition – is based on per serving. This recipe makes about 30 skewers and serves 6 people.

A note on measurements – all ingredients in this recipe are offered in Australian cup measurements and weight measurements. Australian cups are different to other cup measurements in different places in the world which means that no cup measurements anywhere are a reliable way to measure! Weight measurements are created by me, in my kitchen here in Melbourne Australia. The best way to get recipe success is to measure ingredients by weight, using kitchen scales.

Nutrition

Calories : 939kcal

Carbonhydrates: 46g

Protein: 63g

Fat: 61g

Saturated Fat: 21g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g

Monounsaturated Fat : 24g

Trans Fat : 0.02g

Cholesterol: 116mg

Sodium: 2527mg

Potassium : 1485mg

Fiber: 6g

Sugar : 27g

Vitamin A: 95IU

Vitamin C: 17mg

Calcium: 112mg

Iron: 6mg

Nutrition Disclosure

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