Bored with the same old chicken dishes? We are. Around here we eat chicken often, and it certainly can get a little mundane after a while.
Here’s a story that may give you an indication of how much chicken we eat.
Years ago, during hunting season, my son showed a sudden interest in going hunting. My husband explained to him that if he wanted to go hunting, he should be willing to eat whatever he was hunting, and not just go kill something to kill something. My son thought for a second, and responded quite seriously, “Can we go chicken hunting?”
Yep, we eat a lot of chicken. So when I saw this recipe submitted by Tasty Kitchen member Angiespantry for Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, I had to try it right away. It looked simple enough and I could tell by the list of ingredients we were in for delicious change of pace.
Angie did not disappoint. This recipe is a keeper. And no hunting is involved. Unless you consider grocery shopping hunting.
The recipe combines a marinade and a peanut sauce to create a perfect savory, sweet balance of flavors. Lawsie mercy, the peanut sauce is over-the-top good. The peanut sauce alone is worth giving this recipe a try. It brought rave reviews from my family.
Another thing I liked about this recipe is that the marinade and sauce can be made up to a couple of days ahead. With everything made ahead, it was a simple meal to pull together at the end of a busy day.
Let’s get going.
The ingredients, other than a couple of spices that you can easily find at your local grocer, are fairly basic. Remember, for the full list of ingredients and recipe, see the recipe link at the bottom of this post.
Begin with boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces, and skewered on wooden or metal skewers. If you’re using wooden skewers, be sure to pre-soak them so they don’t burn while grilling. Cover and refrigerate chicken until you’re ready to marinate.
For the marinade you’ll need ground turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, vegetable oil, lime juice and soy sauce.
Combine well. (Reserve 5 tablespoons of marinade for use in the peanut sauce.)
Pour marinade over skewered chicken and coat well. I used a pastry brush to make sure the chicken was totally coated. Angie suggests using your hands to coat the chicken, but be sure to wear kitchen gloves because the turmeric will stain your hands. Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
The peanut sauce is made with simple ingredients: vegetable oil, onion, chili powder, the reserved marinade, brown sugar, water and of course, peanut butter. In addition, a whole lime and fresh cilantro are recommended for garnish, but not required.
To make the peanut sauce, heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and sauté the chopped onion. Add the chili powder, the reserved marinade, brown sugar and water and whisk together until well-combined.
Remove from heat and add the peanut butter. Whisk in the peanut butter until incorporated and smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water at a time. Cover pan and set aside until ready to serve with cooked chicken. When ready to serve the sauce, gradually heat over low heat, occasionally whisking so the sauce doesn’t separate. You can also reheat the sauce on 50% power in the microwave a few seconds at a time, stirring in between.
When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill chicken for 10-15 minutes, until done.
Serve cooked chicken with peanut sauce. Garnish with cilantro and/or fresh lime wedges.
We had enough peanut sauce left over to combine with wide rice noodles for a side dish to accompany the chicken. Perfectly perfect to chase the chicken blahs away. A big thanks to Angie, who blogs at Angie’s Pantry, for the tasty recipe. (Her blog is chock full of good stuff!)
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Description
This is one of my favorite recipes for chicken. You can make it as an entree or an appetizer. Easy enough to make ahead and very elegant when entertaining. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut Into Bite Size Pieces
- _____
- FOR THE MARINADE:
- 4 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 2 teaspoons Cumin
- 4 teaspoons Coriander
- 2 teaspoons Turmeric
- _____
- FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE:
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- ⅓ cups Onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
- 5 Tablespoons MARINADE:
- ¼ cups Brown Sugar, Packed
- ½ cups Water, Or More If Needed
- 1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter, Do Not Use Natural Or Low Fat
- 1 whole Lime, Cut Into Wedges, For Garnish
- 1 bunch Fresh Cilantro For Garnish, Chopped
Preparation Instructions
1) Combine all marinade ingredients and whisk well to combine. Reserve 5 tablespoons of marinade for the sauce and refrigerate until you’re ready to make the sauce. Set the remaining marinade aside. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and skewer*. Skewer your chicken pieces on presoaked (in water) wooden skewers or metal skewers. Pour remaining marinade over chicken skewers being sure to coat thoroughly. (I use gloves, because the turmeric can stain your hands). Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for an hour.
2) For the peanut sauce, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions for 5-7 minutes. Add chili powder and the reserved 5 tablespoons of marinade, brown sugar, and ½ cup of water. Keep the pan over heat until very hot. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, carefully whisk until completely incorporated. Add additional water if the sauce is too thick. Loosely cover the pan and set aside. To warm the sauce, do so in microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds at a time and stir between. Heat until just warm. If you over heat the sauce, the oil will separate.
3) Preheat grill and cook skewered marinated chicken over medium high heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve chicken with peanut sauce and garnish with cilantro and fresh lime wedges.
Makes approximately 32 – 6″skewers for appetizers or 8 dinner size portion skewers.
*I like to skewer the chicken first before the marinade is added. It’s much less messy and when you’re entertaining, you won’t have to skewer the meat while you have guests. Again, I recommend using gloves.
_______________________________________
Amy Johnson is a blogger who writes about food, travel, the home (both inside and out), and various observations and random musings about anything and everything. Visit her blog She Wears Many Hats for a dose of deliciousness, practicality, hilarity, or just plain fun. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children.
38 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
ms.v. on 4.12.2011
Yes, I have to unfortunately agree. I felt like something was missing from the marinade and peanut sauce…a brightness or spiciness or something. Anyway, it was a great start but not a keeper.
Heidi on 3.10.2011
I had a similar experience as Natalee. The peanut butter flavor was way too strong, even after I added extra spices. Thankfully my husband isn’t picky, so it was eaten, but I won’t be making it again.
Natalee on 2.22.2011
I made this last night cause it sounded so good….and maybe I did something wrong??? It was awful! So overpowering with peanut butter that it was all I could taste. My family wouldn’t eat it and ended up throwing most of it away. Sorry!
eastmeetswest on 2.17.2011
I would recommend putting some lemongrass puree in the satay marinade… It will add a more authentic Malaysian/Indonesian flavour to it. : )
Cuddley Duddley on 2.16.2011
Hi Amy and Angie
Two chop sticks salute way up to you both. Thank you for this well spring that you sprung for me lol. You go girls. While my family ate this meal, all i could hear was yummy noises you know like mmmmmm yummm ahhhh. To make the meal extend further I offered couscous with a chiffonade of kaffir lime leaves, also a Cellophane noodle with a mango lime sauce with chilies and lemon grass. Finally I also did a fried rice with some Srirchara sauce so I could have a faux Kung Pao Pea nutty chicken.
My left overs for the chicken will be a soup served over fried noodles or a pita mango cilantro or mung bean sprout chicken sanny with a nice thai coffee to wash it all down. You two are the bestest .
Molly on 2.16.2011
This was absolutely fantastic. I used crunchy peanut butter for some extra texture and refrained from using coriander just because I don’t care for it, and it was great. Super easy too, even if you just want to cook the chicken on the stove top.
Cuddley Duddley on 2.16.2011
Radziah
I can tell you it tastes sweet and savory. I added roasted peanut oil. In addition, I added non roasted peanuts with no salt on them and than roasted and chopped these up. I also added dried chilies. As a side I had celophane noodles, in a ginger, lime, and a mango sauce with cilantro.
radziah on 2.16.2011
omg, I’m from Malaysia and we never make the peanut sauce with peanut butter. Does it taste sweet or savory? We make peanut sauce with real peanuts with dried chillies and other spices.
socaldesertgal on 2.15.2011
I love satay, so you know I will be making this asap!
jackie99 on 2.15.2011
I’ll have to give this a try. It looks delicious!
Cookin' Canuck on 2.15.2011
This is a gorgeous recipe, Amy and Angie. It has all of my favorite flavors in one place.
Amy | She Wears Many Hats on 2.15.2011
Hey Ade!
I believe I’d add the amount needed from the marinade ingredients. Those spices will add to the fullness of the flavor. But you will only need the small portion required from the total marinade.
Guess there’ll be a little math involved. ; )
Enjoy!
~ Amy
Lily G on 2.15.2011
Yummmm…this is one of my hometown street food in Indonesia. I grew up eating a lot of these chicken satay. Eat or have this with sweet soy sauce and rice cake, that makes it even better…
Wenderly on 2.15.2011
I could take a spoon to that bowl of peanut butter I tell ya. And oh my Miss Amy does this recipe look to be a family favorite!
Robyn on 2.15.2011
I made this last night and it was delicious! I didn’t use skewers, however, since we had a pretty fierce storm going on outside and the BBQ seemed like a bad idea. I just cut up the chicken pieces and laid them in a baking tray and baked them. Served the whole thing over rice. Super tasty, indeed!! Thanks for sharing!
Ade on 2.15.2011
I have a question about the peanut sauce. If I wanted to make the peanut sauce alone for some chicken, can I just use those ingredients w/o the marinade? or is the marinade needed too? I’m a first Tasty Kitchener lol
Happy when not hungry on 2.15.2011
I love the flavors in this dish as well as the skewers. Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
iplayoutsidethebox on 2.15.2011
I’ve been looking for a peanut sauce for chicken for a long time….I do believe that this is going to fit the bill perfectly!!! I can’t wait to try it!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe MissAmy!!!
Cuddley Duddley on 2.15.2011
Yippie
I made the marinade two ways 1 with roasted peanut oil and the 2nd with canola oil. I can hardly wait to taste this yummy dish. I must wait waiting is good waiting will make it taste better. Wish I had a time machine…Thank you for this recipe and for teaching the lesson of patience.
DessertForTwo on 2.14.2011
Your son’s comment cracked me up!
I love that this recipe uses ingredients you already have on hand! I’m all about exotic food, without having to go to the big grocery store in the city to get the ingredients, of course!
Cassia on 2.14.2011
Mmmmmmm! This was one of the dishes served at my wedding..it was so good i died…twice. i barely fit in my dress at the end of the night. SOOO good
Rivki Locker on 2.14.2011
This looks wonderful, a great change of pace from roast chicken or Asian stir fries…. Beautiful photos!
Brenda @ afarmgirlsdabbles on 2.14.2011
Beautiful photos, Amy! This looks so delicious – my whole family loves all these ingredients – I know it would be a hit here.
Donna on 2.14.2011
Yum! I’m trying this with peanut oil instead of vegetable oil… with a dash of sweet chili sauce… can’t wait!
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is on 2.14.2011
I love peanut sauce!
Miz Booshay on 2.14.2011
Oh my word!!!
Get in my belly!
chanteclaire on 2.14.2011
This looks amazing! I have been afraid to even try satay, but this looks like something that I can do. Thanks for what looks like a great recipe!
Yvonne on 2.14.2011
If you can find it at your local Asian store – try it with Indonesian Ketchap Manis instead of Soy sauce. Super good!
Linda on 2.14.2011
I have been looking for a peanut sauce to use with spring rolls.
Yeah, I think this will be great. Linda
Grandma Gwen on 2.14.2011
OMG! I’m salivating all over my keyboard! Thank you for posting this recipe! I’ve always wanted to make Chicken Satay, but was afraid it was too complicated! Can’t wait to try it out!
Katie | GoodLife Eats on 2.14.2011
So totally trying this with almond butter instead of peanut butter (peanut allergy in our house) once it’s warm enough to go out to grill. Which might be very soon…I hope…as this morning it was 45 at 8 am. Looks delicious, Amy!
Natalie | Perry's Plate on 2.14.2011
Gorgeous post Amy!! I love chicken satay a LOT. Thanks for a great recipe, Angie!
lois on 2.14.2011
First love: Don
lizzy on 2.14.2011
Yummm….making this with tofu soon!
Heather @ Heather's Dish on 2.14.2011
Mmmmm, I love satay and I love peanut sauce…winner winner chicken dinner!
Kiran Srivastava on 2.14.2011
Awesome possum! I say that because Satay is what I grew up, eating of course
eq4bits on 2.14.2011
Oh how I love Satay… let me count the ways….
I love it as shrimp, chicken or beef
Fell madly, deeply in love with this dish when I lived in Singapore in 1980/1981… I nearly made Newton Circus my home (that’s where the best Satay was… well there and near one of the Quay’s…)
missinthekitchen on 2.14.2011
I’ve had my eye out for a good peanut sauce and I think this will fit the bill. Yum! My son always wants to know who shot the chicken, because my older sons hunt turkey, so it must be true of chickens as well! Funny stuff.