Chicken Satay is a delicious grilled chicken skewer served with a peanut dipping sauce. It is one of the most popular South East Asian street food. I am sharing a Thai-style, easy, and tasty chicken satay recipe.
About Satay
The word Satay is used in South East Asia for marinated and grilled meat or seafood served on skewers. It is one of the most convenient and healthy ways to enjoy grilled food while on the go.
If you visit Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, or Malaysia, satay is one of the most common street food dishes you will come across. When it comes to satay, one is spoiled for choices. From flavour to type of meat, there are so many options.
It is grilled manually over a coal or wood fire. Brushed with oil while grilling and served with a dipping sauce.
I am sharing an easy, flavoursome Thai-style chicken satay recipe that is surely bookmark-worthy for the grilling season. You need only 5 ingredients to marinate the chicken.
Ingredients Required
Chicken: Use a combination of boneless chicken breasts and chicken thighs. Cut each piece of the chicken meat into uniform, tiny, bite-size pieces.
Red Curry Paste: The star ingredient of my chicken satay marinade is Thai red curry paste. You can use homemade or readymade curry paste.
Coconut Milk: It helps in softening the meat and gives it a deliciously creamy texture.
Other Ingredients: Red Chilli Powder, Salt, Brown Sugar, Coconut or Sesame Oil
How To Make Satay
Step 1) Clean, wash, and cut the chicken meat into equal, bite-size pieces.
Step 2) Combine Thai red curry paste, coconut milk, salt, sugar, and red chilli powder in a bowl. Mix nicely. Taste, and add more seasoning if required.
Sept 3) Add chicken pieces to the marinade. Mix to coat each piece with the marinade. Cover and keep in the refrigerator. For satay, it is best to marinate the meat pieces overnight or for at least 4 to 5 hours.
Step 4) Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least one hour. This will prevent the bamboo skewers from burning on the grill.
Step 5) Once ready to grill, thread 3-4 pieces of marinated chicken meat onto the bamboo skewers. Similarly, prepare all the skewers.
Step 6) Grill the chicken satay skewers for 5 minutes on each side until the meat is fully cooked and the surface is nicely charred on both sides. Baste and brush with oil to keep the meat moist while grilling.
How To Grill Satay
The best way to grill chicken satay is on a charcoal BBQ or wood fire.
But don’t worry, you can grill them on good quality, heavy-duty cast iron or grilling pan over the stovetop. Or use an indoor, electric BBQ for the purpose.
You can use the grill mode of the oven or microwave for this purpose.
Serving Suggestion
Chicken Satay is served with a sweet and spicy peanut dipping sauce. However, you can serve it with Thai sweet chilli sauce, spicy mango dipping sauce, or any other dip you choose.
I love serving them with a bowl of smashed cucumber salad or Chinese Coleslaw.
My Tried & True Tips
The key to the best chicken satay is the tender and juicy meat. I prefer using boneless thigh meat for making satay. Second, marination is the key step in making a flavoursome satay.
Marinate the meat for at least 4 to 5 hours or, at best, overnight. The meat needs to absorb the marinade’s flavour, so it does not taste bland underneath.
Customize your marinade. Add a teaspoon of soy sauce, fish sauce or red chilli sauce to the marinade mix. Or skip the sugar if you don’t want the notes of sweetness in your chicken satay.
Chicken skewers take 10 minutes over medium heat on a bbq/grill pan. And it is surely a crime to overcook the chicken pieces because it makes them dry and chewy.
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Chicken Satay Recipe
- Bamboo Skewers
- BBQ or Grill
Ingredients
- 500 gram boneless chicken pieces
Ingredients for Chicken Satay Marinade
- ¼ Cup Thai Red Curry paste (get recipe)
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 4 tablespoon coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 4 tablespoon sesame oil
- a few lemon wedges
Instructions
- Clean, wash and cut the chicken meat into equal, bite-size pieces.
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least one hour. This will prevent the bamboo skewers from burning on the grill.
- Combine Thai red curry paste, coconut milk, salt, sugar, and red chilli powder in a bowl. Mix nicely. Taste, and add more seasoning if required.
- Add chicken pieces to the marinade. Mix to coat each piece with the marinade. Cover and keep in the refrigerator. For satay, it is best to marinate the meat pieces overnight or for at least 4 to 5 hours.
- Once you are ready to grill, thread 3-4 pieces of marinated chicken meat onto the bamboo skewers. Make sure to tighly pack the chicken pieces on the skewer without leaving space in between. Similarly, prepare all the skewers.
- The best way to grill chicken satay is on a charcoal BBQ or wood fire. You can grill them on good quality, heavy-duty cast iron or grilling pan over the stovetop. Or use an indoor, electric BBQ for the purpose.
- Cook till chicken pieces are tender and get charred from the outside.
- Keep turning the skewers while grilling for even cooking, and baste them with the leftover marinade and sesame oil.
- Sprinkle chopped cilantro, green onion, and lime juice.
- Serve Chicken Satay with peanut dipping sauce.
Recipe Notes:
- Use chicken thigh or breast meat for the satay. Ensure the pieces are tiny bite-size so that they are easy to grill.
- I highly recommend marinating the meat overnight for the chicken satay.
- You can use readymade Thai Red Curry paste for the marinade.
Taste USA says
Oh wow, this looks amazing, and I’ve never made sate like you show here. I’ll have to remedy that sad fact. Thanks so much for the inspired ideas. I love satay – i made them once with cashews yummy. i have never tried them with mince meat/poultry though and it looks like a nice alternative. love the pictures!
http://tasteusa.blogspot.com
Shrikant says
Looks very yummy! Delicious post 🙂
Diana Lopes says
These ingredients blend in so well, I love this recipe!