An Easy Thai Satay Chicken In A Thick And Creamy Peanut Sauce with a special ingredient in the sauce that takes this satay from ‘yeah, it’s nice’ to ‘wow! It’s spectacular!’
The one ingredient I add into it covers over 10 ingredients, so YOU don’t have to worry about forgetting anything in the supermarket! Now this is a quick and easy Thai Satay Chicken recipe!
The thing about this Thai Satay Chicken recipe is that it may not be the authentic real deal directly from Thailand whatever, BUT it IS incredible and TASTES like take-out Thai, which, to me, is a crucial part of living.
This recipe is my answer to those moments you want a Thai Satay Chicken, but either:
A) you don’t have time to be cubing chicken, soaking skewers and threading chicken onto those skewers while trying to avoid stabbing fingers and palms with said skewers.
OR
B) you just want an easy route. Aka lazy. This is for us.
Serve with the peanut sauce on the side OR drown the chicken in the satay sauce before it hits the table, I love both ways and can never decide which one is better, because in the end it’s going to end up in sauce. Well, in this house anyway. But, serving the sauce on the side would suit most people for easier control of exactly how much sauce goes over this chicken.
The chicken is first marinaded in a beautiful sauce FULL of satay flavours, and seared in that sauce for extra flavours. Don’t even try to skip this step. You’d be loco to rush ahead.
What makes this marinade extra special is using Thai red Curry Paste! Forget about buying a basket full of spices and ingredients, grinding them yourself and turning them into a paste, which is essentially what most Thai sauces are made from. No need when you can get a good Thai Paste at any supermarket.
Once you’ve seared your chicken, it then finishes cooking in the oven while you prepare this sauce. THIS SAUCE. God, help me. NOT just peanut butter and coconut milk. No, forget it. I don’t roll like that. The peanut sauce also has Thai paste for an extra hit of flavour, plus other flavours to get that KAPOW.
From here, once the chicken is cooked through, you can pour the sauce straight into the pan and reserve maybe 1/4 cup for serving.
Or just drown it all in sauce. We love sauce. Can you tell?
Thai Satay Chicken to knock your socks off. If you like more Thai recipes, you might like this
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- 4 tablespoons coconut milk (from a 400ml tin)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/4 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce**
- Pinch of salt
- 4 skinless chicken thighs , bone-in or out*
- 2 teaspoons Peanut oil for frying
- 1 1/3 cup coconut milk (all remaining milk from the tin)
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (all natural preferable)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (Kecap manis)
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1/2 tablespoon Tamarind puree (optional)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- Cilantro leaves to garnish
- Lime wedges to garnish
- Red chillies , sliced to garnish
- For the chicken marinade, mix together the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, curry paste, sauces and salt in a large, shallow bowl until well combined and creamy. Add in the chicken, turning to coat completely with the marinade. Allow to marinade for at least 10 minutes to half an hour in the refrigerator (if time allows).
- Preheat oven to 400°F | 200°C.
- Heat oil in an oven-proof pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken until browned on each side and fragrant (about 8-10 minutes each side). Transfer to the oven and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear and no longer pink inside).
- While the chicken is in the oven, combine all Peanut Sauce ingredients into a saucepan EXCEPT for the lime juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer until combined and thickened (about 5-6 minutes). Once thick, take off heat and stir in the lime juice (start with 1 tablespoon and adjust accordingly to suit your tastes).
- Serve the chicken with the peanut sauce: either pour it all into the pan with the chicken OR serve separately.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, lime wedges and red chillies.
*Boneless chicken breasts can be replaced. Adjust cook times accordingly.
**Replace Fish Sauce with Soy Sauce
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Regan Adams says
Wow is right! This recipe is incredible. I’ve been looking for a good, easy way to make chicken satay and this is it. I always think it’s funny when people comment “what a great recipe” and then proceed to list all of things they changed. I’m ashamed to say I did change a few things based on what I had available. I used chicken tenders, which I cooked in a skillet on the stove for 4-5 minutes on each side (no oven required), and instead of the sweet soy, I had to use low sodium soy and I just added two tablespoons of sweet chili sauce to add the sweetness. Thanks for a great recipe.
JBC says
Great recipe! Even my picky kids love it. Next time I want to spice it up a bit with Sriracha or crushed red pepper.
Imogen says
This is so delicious! I made it with thighs the first time and it was great but I will be using breasts next time as my husband prefers them. Thank you so much for this easy and yummy recipe! 🙂
Dania Bilal says
Do you think I can make this with fish?
Cassie says
I made this for dinner tonight and had to come comment that it was AMAZING!! My son absolutely inhaled it! Only change was that I added a squeeze of sriracha into the sauce. Will absolutely make again. Only bummer is I wish I would have made more as there’s no leftovers!
For people wondering about sides, I made coconut jasmine rice and a nice Asian slaw salad.
Karina says
Shari we usually serve this with broccoli or green beans on the side or in the sauce, over steamed rice or rice noodles as you have suggested!
Shari Ali says
What do you feel is a great vegetable to pair it with and would rice noodles also work with this dish?
Karina says
Hi Terri. Yes, absolutely!
Terri says
Do you think this would work well with drumsticks also?
Karina says
That’s so great to read Sheri! Thank you for sharing your feedback!
Sheri says
Yummy combination of flavors. The peanut sauce is the best. The chicken thighs were so moist. An excellent meal, and was easy to make. Will definitely be making this again.
Barry says
made this tonight and seriously I would have paid for this at any Thai restaurant . It brilliant, it tasty and I’ll make it again.
Karina says
Hi Hena. Yes you can cook this in advance and simply reheat on low in the same skillet its cooked in!
Hena says
Hi, can i cook this a day in advance? If so how do i reheat it? Have a dinner party tomorrow and want to get my mains ready a day before. Thanks
Karina says
Thank you for your feedback Tania!
Tania says
I made this two times this week, lol. We love it and it is super easy! Thank you ☺
Craig says
Just made this for my girlfriend’s family, they all loved it and her parents even did the washing up! Will definitely cook it again!
Svenja says
I’ve never left a comment in a food blog but this was absolutely fantastic. And without any fancy ingredients. Will do it again soon. Thanks for sharing!
Karina says
Hi Dawn! Rice is my favourite side, but you could also serve this with roasted or smashed potatoes, or cauliflower rice. Even mashed potatoes would be good too, or steamed veg!
Dawn says
My family loved this! I served it with basmati rice and cucumber salad.
Any ideas for other side dishes that go well with this recipe?
Erin says
Wow, I never ever post a comment on food blogs, but I just had to with this recipe. It was amazing. My boyfriend thought it was one of the best dishes as well. I will definitely be making it again. I made it as stated in the recipe (all except for the tamarind puree, couldn’t find it and I used low sodium soy sauce). Again, just wow. Thanks so much!
Karina says
Hi Janie. Yes you can add the marinade sauce but you must simmer it for a good 5 minutes over high heat to make sure there is no bacteria left from the raw chicken 🙂
Janie says
Hi, can you please tell me do you just discard the marinade sauce or can it be added to the peanut sauce and heated through to make more sauce. Thank you
Laura says
My friends made this the other night and they can’t stop raving about it. They say it is the best chicken they have ever had.
Karina says
Hi Seamus. Yes absolutely! It freezes perfectly 🙂
Seamus says
Hi Karina,
Just made this and it was beautiful. One question though. Can I freeze the sauce prior to heating as I made too much.
Cheers.
Seamus
Karina says
Hi Jenny! For this recipe I use a sweet soy called Kecap Manis (as noted in the recipe). You can find it in the Asian section of any supermarket 🙂 I hope you like it!
Jenny says
Your recipe looks delish! Quick question is the soy sauce you use regular soy sauce or is it special? Thanks so much can’t wait to make it once I know what to use 🙂
Karina says
Thank you Tahira! I’m so glad to hear you liked it! So many people are hung up about authentic and what not, but I know from friends of different cultures, there are so many different ways to make one recipe. From what I understand, there’s no one way to make anything, so I like to put my own spin on something to make it easier for those of us that enjoy easy cooking full of flavour! I’m so happy it works for you!
Tahira says
I loved this! So many Satay recipes call for so many ingredients it’s off putting. You’ve certainly made it so much easier to enjoy something we normally buy weekly. Thanks for this. It’s on a weekly rotation!
Kate says
I made this using cashew butter (my husband is allergic to peanuts) and it was amazing! I forgot to add the lime juice at the end because I was so keen to start eating but it was still delicious 🙂 I’ll definitely be making this one again!
Kate says
I made this using cashew butter (my husband is allergic to peanuts) and it was amazing! I forgot to add the lime juice at the end because I was so keen to start eating but it was still delicious 🙂 Il definitely be making this one again!
Karina says
From the Asian section in any supermarket 😊
Karina says
Thanks Beverly! I’m so glad you agree!
Beverley says
I love how you use ready made Tai sauce not only is it time saving it’s so delicious. Great recipe and thank you xoxo
Karina says
Hi Kathy. You can find it in a supermarket in the Asian section, or any Asian food store 🙂
Kathy says
Where do you get “Thai red curry paste)?