Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce
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Juicy grilled chicken, bold Thai flavors, and an irresistible peanut sauce you’ll want to eat by the spoonful.
I first discovered this wonderful Thai chicken recipe in the Costco magazine, but it comes from from Alice Currah, the talented voice behind the blog and book Savory Sweet Life. The marinade—a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and spices—infuses the grilled chicken with bold Thai flavors. But it’s the rich peanut sauce that truly steals the show.
When I served this dish to my family about ten years ago, my then-young son went back for seconds on the steamed broccoli I’d served alongside. Seeing my surprised look, he said, “Mom, this sauce would make anything taste good.” I couldn’t agree more—I’m always half-tempted to skip the chicken and eat the sauce like soup!
“This Thai chicken is our new favourite…We had steamed vegetables and sticky rice as sides. It was a beautiful meal.”
What You’ll Need To Make Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers With Peanut Sauce
- Soy sauce, dark brown sugar, lime zest, vegetable oil & garlic: The base of the marinade—salty, sweet, citrusy, and full of garlicky flavor.
- Curry powder, ground ginger, cardamom & salt: Add warm, fragrant spice to the marinade, giving the chicken its Thai flavor.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: Pounded and cut into chunks for easy skewering; the lean base that soaks up all the flavor from the marinade.
- Coconut milk, peanut butter, dark brown sugar, soy sauce, Thai red curry paste & lime juice: Blended into a rich, tangy, and slightly sweet peanut sauce with just a touch of heat.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prep the chicken. Pound the chicken to an even ½-inch thickness. This both tenderizes the meat and ensures even cooking. If you don’t have a meat mallet, a rolling pin or a saucepan will both work well. Next, cut the chicken into chunks.
Step 2: Marinate the chicken. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, vegetable oil, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Add the chicken, toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight for the best flavor.
Step 3: Make the peanut sauce. While the chicken marinates, make the sauce. Combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, dark brown sugar, soy sauce, and Thai curry paste in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in the lime juice at the end to brighten it up.
Pro Tip: This sauce is gold—double the batch and keep extras in the fridge for grain bowls, noodles, or even as a veggie dip during the week.
Step 4: Thread the chicken. Once the chicken is done marinating, thread the chunks onto skewers, dividing them evenly.
Pro Tip: If using wooden/bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes beforehand so they don’t catch fire on the grill (yep, it happens).
Step 5: Grill and serve. Grill the skewers for about 5 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve warm with the peanut sauce and lime wedges. Leftovers? Chop the chicken and toss it into a salad, wrap, or rice bowl—don’t forget to drizzle with that extra sauce to tie it all together.
Video Tutorial
More asian-Inspired Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
- Zest of one lime
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
For the Peanut Sauce
- 1 (13-oz) can coconut milk (do not use low-fat)
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 2 limes
For Serving
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
Instructions
- Prep the Chicken: Pound the chicken breasts to an even ½-in (13-mm) thickness between two pieces of wax or parchment paper. Cut the breasts into 1½-in (4-cm) pieces and set aside.
- Marinate the Chicken: Make the marinade by combining the soy sauce, dark brown sugar, lime zest, vegetable oil, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cardamom and salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix until chicken is evenly coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Make the Peanut Sauce: In a medium saucepan, whisk the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce and red curry paste until evenly combined. Bring to a simmer, then cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Stir in the fresh lime juice and set aside.
- Grill the Chicken: Preheat the grill to high heat. Meanwhile, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers. Grease the grill. Place the skewers on the grill and cook for about 10 minutes, turning once, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve the chicken skewers with the peanut sauce and lime wedges, if desired.
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.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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This was a total hit with the entire family. Super easy, had all the ingredients on hand, and soooo tasty.
We absolutely love this recipe. I’ve had several tapas parties in the last month and every time I serve this people go crazy. The marinade for the chicken is wonderful and the peanut sauce is the bomb. Best peanut sauce I’ve ever had. We served it over the week-end and I’m grilling pork tenderloin tonight and using the leftover peanut sauce on the side.
Would it be ok to freeze leftover chicken and peanut sauce? Love all your recipes!!
Hi Maria, Glad you like the recipes! I haven’t frozen this before, but I think it should work.
Dear Jenn,
I love your blog and your recipes!
I am allergic to soy. Unfortunately there are so many recipes I want to make that have soy sauce in them. I have bought the “fake soy sauce” and also had an allergic reaction to that as well. So that’s not an option. In some recipes, I simply omit the soy, in others, I sometimes use oyster sauce or fish sauce. (Hoisin isn’t an option, as it has soy sauce in it).
What do you think would work well to replace the soy sauce in this curry chicken recipe?
Do you have any other suggestions for replacing soy sauce in recipes?
Thanks so much,
Heidi
Hi Heidi, Fish sauce would work well in this recipe. And here is a recipe for a substitute that I think works well for many recipes that call for soy sauce. Hope that helps!
Yummm
How would you cook this in an oven versus a grill – broil it? Perhaps a pannini grill? Thanks!
Yes Ann, you could broil this in the oven. I would cook it for the same amount of time that the recipe indicates– about 5 minutes per side. Enjoy!
Got your recipe via the Huffpost article… you got a new fan! What a stellar dish! So perfectly yummy and better than any restaurant dish that I’ve had (here in the San Francisco Bay Area). Thanks & can’t wait to try more recipes. 😉
How would this taste served cold? I was thinking of making it in advance and bringing it to a party where there won’t be any cooking or warming facilities.
Hi Elaine, I think you could get away serving this room temperature but not cold. Hope that helps!
Made this for my son’s birthday party and I couldn’t make it fast enough. My ethnic folks stick with our cultural foods and refuse to adapt so they were skeptical but after they tasted it, there was literally a line for this! I had to lie about how much was left to get ONE piece to eat.
This is about the 5th or 6th recipe from your site that I’ve made in about 8 weeks. Everything has tasted great! This is definitely a keeper. I made a few adjustments just based upon taste from my family, cut back on curry powder and didn’t use red curry paste. Substituted a bit of sriracha for the paste and cut the dipping sauce amounts in half. Served it with lo mein and sautéed broccoli. Thanks for such great recipes!