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This chicken satay recipe is a delicious way to bring a restaurant favorite home! Serve the grilled skewers with homemade peanut sauce as a party appetizer, or turn them into an easy dinner with rice and a simple vegetable side.
You know those chicken satay skewers that always seem to disappear first at cocktail parties? Well, here’s your chance to make them at home and enjoy as many as you like, without having to chase down a server for another skewer! The chicken is marinated until flavorful and tender, then grilled until lightly charred and caramelized around the edges. And of course, there’s the peanut sauce: creamy, a little spicy, and brightened with fresh lime. Best of all, it’s surprisingly easy to make, and you can prepare the sauce a few days ahead.
I like to serve this chicken satay with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli on the side. It’s also perfect for entertaining. Make 6 to 8 long skewers for a main course, or use smaller skewers if you’re serving it as an appetizer.
“Better than anything we have ever had at any Thai restaurant across the globe…Thank you Chef for bringing interest, delight and excitement to our dinner table yet again!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Satay
- Soy Sauce: Adds savory and umami flavors to both the chicken marinade and peanut sauce.
- Vegetable Oil: Helps coat the chicken evenly and keeps it from sticking to the grill.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Adds deep, molasses-y sweetness that balances the saltiness and spice in both the chicken and the sauce.
- Ketchup: Gives the marinade a bit of sweetness and tang, and helps the chicken caramelize as it cooks.
- Garlic: Adds bold, aromatic flavor to both the marinade and the peanut sauce.
- Ground Turmeric And Coriander: Warm, earthy spices that bring flavor and a golden color to the marinade.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken: Chicken thighs, breasts, or tenderloins all work—use whatever you like best. Just note the cooking time will just be slightly longer for the thighs.
- Unsweetened Coconut Milk & Peanut Butter: These form the base of the peanut sauce, giving it a nutty flavor, slight sweetness, and creamy texture.
- Thai Red Curry Paste: Packs bold, fragrant spice into the sauce—just a tablespoon adds a ton of flavor. I use the Thai Kitchen brand, which is easy to find in most large supermarkets.
- Sriracha & Fresh Lime Juice: These flavorings add a little heat and brightness to the peanut sauce.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to Make Chicken Satay
Make the marinade: In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, ketchup, garlic, turmeric, and coriander. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
Marinate the chicken: Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Marinating the chicken for 4 hours is totally sufficient and will render very flavorful chicken, but if you have time to marinate it overnight, it’s best for maximum depth of flavor.
Preheat the grill and thread the skewers: While the grill warms up, thread the chicken onto skewers, leaving a bit of space between the chicken pieces so they cook evenly and char all around.
Grill the chicken: Place the chicken on oiled grates and grill until charred around the edges and just cooked through. Keep in mind that chicken breasts will cook faster than thighs.
Make the peanut sauce: In a small saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, curry paste, sriracha, soy sauce (or fish sauce), and lime juice. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer the sauce until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before serving.
Serve: Transfer the skewers to a platter and serve with the peanut sauce. Enjoy!
Make-Ahead and Freezing Instructions
Make ahead: The peanut sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat gently before serving, stirring in a splash of water if needed to loosen it. You can also marinate the chicken ahead of time and refrigerate it until ready to cook, following the marinating time specified in the recipe.
Freezing: For the best texture, I recommend freezing the uncooked chicken rather than the cooked skewers. Place the chicken and marinade in a freezer-safe bag, press out the excess air, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before threading onto skewers and cooking as directed.
Video Tutorial
Chicken Satay
Ingredients
For the Chicken Skewers
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, breasts, or tenderloins, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
- Skewers, for grilling (see note)
For the Peanut Sauce
- ¾ cup unsweetened coconut milk
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
Instructions
For the Chicken
- In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, ketchup, garlic, turmeric, and coriander. Add the chicken and toss until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to cook, preheat the grill to medium-high heat and clean and oil the grates.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers (be sure not to cram the skewers) and arrange them on the grill.
- Cook, covered, until the chicken is charred around the edges and just cooked through—3 to 5 minutes per side for chicken breasts or tenderloins, and 5 to 6 minutes per side for chicken thighs. Transfer to a platter and serve with the peanut sauce.
For the Peanut Sauce
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, curry paste, sriracha, soy sauce (or fish sauce), and lime juice. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and let cool slightly—the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This was easy and my family loved it.
Sadly don’t have a grill.
Can I make this in the oven or on a stovetop grill pan?
Hi Linda, use your oven and broil them for about the same time as indicated in the recipe, flipping them once so they brown evenly. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn! I have tried many of your wonderful recipes. My family have enjoyed your baking recipes and many others. I luv the way the recipe is clearly written and illustrated. I’ve been meaning to comment for some time now and I’m glad I did . Thank you and I will keep exploring and practicing.
Hi Jen! Do you think cubed pork tenderloin could be substituted for the chicken?
Sure Noreen, I think that should work. Cook time may be a bit different though, so keep a close eye on them.
Thanks, Jen! I realize I substituted the most major ingredient in this recipe by substituting pork, but still wanted to report back that it was absolutely fantastic! Not a skewer left to be seen. And the peanut sauce was sublime. In the past I’ve always had to tweak peanut sauce recipes, but…like every recipe of yours that I have tried….this was perfectly balanced AND it didn’t break/separate which can be an issue with other recipes.
You are a Total. Rock. STAR!
❣️
So glad it came out well with the pork – thanks for reporting back!
This recipe is absolutely fabulous!!! I made the sauces a day ahead, so getting everything else together the day of dinner, like making a dessert, made the day so enjoyable for my party. I skipped the sriracha in the peanut sauce because, for me, it was delicious enough without the heat, but perhaps that would have put it over the top! Just great as it was.
Our family loved this meal! Our 3 kids were so excited to have “meat on a stick”. I ended up adding more coconut milk to thin the sauce and added to udon noodles to make peanut noodles. So good!
After marinating the chicken, can I freeze the chicken in individual portions so that I can grill fresh when I am ready. I am one person and cannot eat the whole recipe at once.
Sure, Denise, that’s fine. 😊
Love this as does the whole family. I’ve also used Tabasco rather than Sriracha, and flavours are similar but different, but both seem to work well. Regarding freezing, I’ve made quite a few at the same time and frozen some in the peanut sauce, and never had an issue.
Could I make this with green curry paste instead of red curry paste?
Sure, MaryDee, just keep in mind that the sauce may have a bit more heat.
Could I leave chicken thighs whole and then bake in the oven (same way you cook the chipotle chicken thighs)? I’m craving this but I’m not built to grill in the snow. 😂
Lol, me neither! If you’d like to cook them indoors, use your oven and broil them for about the same time as indicated in the recipe, flipping them once so they brown evenly (and it’s fine to keep them whole). Enjoy!