Chicken Satay {With Peanut Dipping Sauce} – WellPlated.com (2024)

When you want everyone to agree on what to eat, make Chicken Satay. Grilled chicken skewers flavored with soy, lime, and ginger and served with a peanut dipping sauce, they taste succulent, a little spicy, and a little sweet. Satay is easy to make, scrumptious to eat, and there’s something inexplicably fun about eating food on a stick!

Why You’ll Love This Satay Chicken

• Appetizer or Main Event. While chicken satay is traditionally served as an appetizer (you’ve likely seen it on Asian restaurant menus), we most often enjoy it as the main event. The leftovers are also great on salads (try Ramen Salad) or turned into Asian Chicken Wraps.
• It’s Fun. I’m not sure why, but there’s something magical about dunking a skewer of tender, grilled meat into a rich peanut dipping sauce. (Equally magical is the Thai Peanut Stir Fry That Got Me Married in my cookbook.)
• That Sauce ‘Tho. The best part of chicken satay might just be the Thai peanut dipping sauce. It’s creamy, richly spiced with ginger and garlic, and has a lightly spicy, sweet note that is nothing short of habit-forming.

Between the quick and easy prep, leftover potential, and did I mention PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE, you’ll fall in love with this easy satay recipe!

About Chicken Satay

Satay is dish that originated in Indonesia but is popular across Southeast Asia in places such as Thailand and Malaysia.

Although there are many varieties of satay, all of them begin with tasty meat that’s marinaded in a variety of herbs and aromatics (chicken, pork, and beef can all be used for satay), then grilled over an open flame for a lightly crisp exterior, smoky taste, and juicy interior.

Satay is also served with dipping sauce to complement the meat.

In Indonesian chicken satay recipes and Thai chicken skewers, the sauce is typically made with peanut butter, sugar (I use honey), and spices.

It’s sweet, spicy, nutty, and absolutely delicious.

How to Make Chicken Satay

This chicken satay skewers recipe begins with an easy marinade.

It ends with a rich and tangy-sweet peanut dipping sauce that you’ll want to start enjoying on EVERYTHING (we love it with Air Fryer Tofu too!).

You can serve satay hot off the grill, or enjoy it at room temperature.

Satay sauce can be served hot or cold, though I find it’s best either warm or at room temperature.

The Ingredients

Chicken Satay

• Marinade. A salty-sweet blend of soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, Sriracha, lime juice, ginger, and garlic. It will flavor every bite of the chicken and does double duty to tenderize the meat.

• Chicken Breast. Between the marinade and the grill, the chicken becomes exceptionally tasty and tender. Chicken breasts are also easy to thread onto skewers, so much better than chicken thighs.

The Best Peanut Dipping Sauce

The Thai peanut dipping sauce might just be the best part of chicken satay!

• Peanut Butter. A delicious peanut sauce requires creamy, rich peanut butter for flavor and texture.
• Honey. Naturally sweetens our peanut sauce just enough to keep you coming back for more (like in my favorite Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken recipe); honey also tastes outstanding paired with the peanut butter in savory dishes like this one.
• Soy Sauce + Fish Sauce. Salty, umami flavor bombs.
• Sriracha. For a touch of heat. If you want spicy chicken satay skewers, you can add more for an extra kick.
• Ginger + Garlic. Two must-have ingredients that provide complex flavors.
• Lime Juice + Cilantro. Acidity and freshness. Could use shallot or red onion as well.

The Directions

1. Marinate the chicken, and soak the skewers.

2. Prepare the peanut dipping sauce.

3. Thread the skewers.

4. Grill the satay skewers over medium-high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
5. Serve with toppings and peanut dipping sauce. ENJOY!

How to Make Baked Chicken Satay

Here are some tips for making chicken satay skewers without a grill.

Personally, I prefer the char the grill (or a grill pan on the stovetop) adds, but if you don’t have access, the oven will still produce good results.

• Marinate the chicken as directed, soak the skewers, and prepare the peanut sauce.
• When you’re ready to cook the chicken, lay the threaded chicken skewers on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Broil the skewers for 5 to 6 minutes, until the chicken is golden on the outside and cooked through.

Storage Tips

• To Store. Leftover skewers can be stored in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store the peanut sauce in a separate airtight storage container for up to 4 days.
• To Reheat. Remove the chicken from the skewers and place it on a baking sheet. Let come to room temperature, then reheat it in the oven at 350 degrees F. As soon as the satay is warm, serve it immediately; watch it carefully so that it doesn’t dry out. Reheat the sauce gently on the stove or in the microwave, stirring every few minutes.
• To Freeze. Freeze chicken and peanut sauce separately in airtight, freezer-safe storage containers for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

What to Serve with Chicken Satay

• Salads. Add crunchy freshness with Asian Cabbage Salad or Asian Cucumber Salad.
• More Thai Food. Make it a Thai-inspired feast with Shrimp Pad Thai, Green Curry, or Panang Curry.
• Grilled Vegetables. Maximize your grill space with a side of Grilled Asparagus or Grilled Broccoli.
• Rice. For a simple, super satisfying meal, enjoy your satay with coconut rice or Jasmine rice. See How to Cook Brown Rice and How to Make White Rice.

• Grill Skewers. A stainless steel set that’s easy to use anytime a craving strikes. No need to soak them first.
• Grill Tongs. Easily grip and flip anything on the grill.
• Grill Pan. For those without an outdoor grill, this indoor grill panworks on any stove and will yield excellent results.

Chicken satay with peanut sauce, you are just so dippin’ good.