These flavourful Thai Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce are perfect for grilling but can also be made on the stove top for an easy weeknight meal. These flavorful chicken skewers and peanut dipping sauce make a great starter but can easily be transformed into a delicious meal served alongside coconut rice.
If you haven’t tried recreating this restaurant favorite before, you really need to! Thai Chicken Satay skewers are surprisingly easy to make at home and are sure to become a dinner time favorite.
These skewers make a great appetizer to kick off a delicious meal or snack on while sipping on drinks with friends. While this is the most popular way to enjoy this recipe, it can also be transformed into a main meal by serving the skewers with coconut rice.
No barbecue? No problem. While grilling these Thai chicken skewers makes them more authentic, you can easily make adjustments to cook these in a pan so you can enjoy them year-round, no matter what the whether is like outside.
My recipe for these delicious skewers is pretty simple and doesn’t take much time at all. The marinade takes just minutes to make, as does the sauce and the skewers themselves (though I do recommend letting the chicken sit in the marinade for maximum flavor and tenderness).
Another bonus about making these at home? You can easily adjust the peanut sauce to suit your personal taste. Can’t handle too much heat? Reduce the curry paste and peppers in the recipe. Want it spicier? Add more of those spicy elements.
Ingredients for Thai Chicken Satay
- Chicken: chicken thighs, chopped into bite size pieces. Chicken thighs are used as they are tender and juicy, making these skewers irresistibly good.
- Soy sauce
- Honey: You can substitute sugar (granulated sugar or brown sugar) if you wish. It is used in both the marinade and the sauce.
- Thai red chili paste: This flavor packed paste adds spicy heat to the dish as well.
- Coconut milk: Used in both the marinade and the sauce.
- Peanut butter: smooth.
- Rice vinegar: can substitute apple cider vinegar.
- Thai chili pepper: seeded and finely chopped. This optional ingredient is used as a garnish if you want more heat.
- Peanuts: chopped and added as a garnish.
**Note: Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
Making Thai Chicken Satay
- Marinate chicken. In a large platter or ziplock bag, mix coconut milk, soy sauce, thai red curry paste, and honey. Add the chicken and mix to coat evenly. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Skewer chicken. Soak skewers in water for 15 minutes. Carefully thread the marinated chicken onto the skewers.
- Cook chicken. Grill on medium heat until cooked through, turning halfway through cooking. Alternatively, you can cook these in a pan on the stove top. To do so, heat a tablespoon of cooking oil over medium-high heat and add the skewers a few at a time to ensure they are not overcrowded. Cook for a few minutes on each side, flipping to ensure an even cook until they are fully cooked through.
- Make sauce. To make sauce, add all ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Taste and adjust the ingredients if needed to suit your tastes.
- Serve. To serve, sprinkle chicken with chopped peanuts, cilantro and chili peppers (if you want to add heat). Serve skewers with the peanut dipping sauce.
What to serve with this Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce recipe
As mentioned earlier, these Thai skewers make a great starter or appetizer on their own.
That said, I also love transforming them into a weeknight meal by serving with a salad topped with this Asian Citrus Soy Salad Dressing and coconut rice. They can also be served alongside another classic Thai dish, Pad Thai!
Storing leftovers and reheating
Once cooled completely, leftover skewers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat them, I like to place them on a baking sheet and heat them up until warmed through in the oven.
They can also be reheated on the stove top. Simply add a teaspoon of cooking oil to a pan and warm them through on medium-low heat (low and slow will ensure it warms through to the center without burning the outside.
I hope you enjoy these delicious skewers as much as I do!
Bon appetit!
-Cathy
You may also like:
Asian Sesame Beef Skewers
Traditional Pork Souvlaki
Hawaiian Chicken Skewers with Honey-Soy Glaze
Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
For the skewers
- 1.5 lb chicken thighs chopped into bite size pieces
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon thai red curry paste
- 2 teaspoons honey or sugar
For the peanut sauce
- 1/3 cup peanut butter smooth
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons honey or granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons thai red curry paste + more, as needed to reach desired heat level
To serve
- 1 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 1 thai chili pepper seeded and finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
Instructions
- In a large platter or ziplock bag, mix coconut milk, soy sauce, thai red curry paste, and honey. Add the chicken and mix to coat evenly. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Soak skewers in water for 15 minutes. Carefully thread the marinated chicken onto the skewers. Grill on medium heat until cooked through, turning halfway through cooking. Alternatively, you can cook these in a pan on the stove top. To do so, heat a tablespoon of cooking oil over medium-high heat and add the skewers a few at a time to ensure they are not overcrowded. Cook for a few minutes on each side, flipping to ensure an even cook until they are fully cooked through.
- To make sauce, add all ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Taste and adjust the ingredients if needed to suit your tastes.
- To serve, sprinkle chicken with chopped peanuts, cilantro and chili peppers (if you want to add heat). Serve skewers with the peanut dipping sauce.
Notes
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
I wish you printed the nutritional info for your recipes.
That’s something I’d definitely love to consider in the future!