Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce
Chicken Satay is a classic easy appetizer to serve with peanut dipping sauce. I love making it a main dish by serving this up with coconut rice and tossing the sauce with some veggies! Grill these chicken skewers and serve them up with my slightly sweet and slightly spicy peanut dipping sauce.
Servings: 12 -14 skewers
Ingredients
Chicken Satay:
- 1 ½ - 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into long rectangles
- ⅓ cup loosely packed cilantro
- ½ shallot or ¼ red onion
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1- inch knob peeled ginger
- 2 tablespoons EACH: lemongrass paste AND fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons oil
- ¼ cup EACH brown sugar AND lo-so soy sauce or GF tamari
- ½ teaspoon EACH: cumin powder AND turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
Peanut Dipping Sauce:
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 2 tablespoons EACH: lo-so soy sauce AND brown sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sriracha or sambal oelek
- coconut rice for serving (optional)
Instructions
- CHICKEN MARINADE: In a blender, combine all the ingredients except the chicken. Pulse the blender until the shallot, cilantro, and garlic break down into a sauce-like consistency. Add the chicken pieces into a gallon-sized zip-top bag and pour the prepared marinade over the chicken. Zip bag and squish to coat the chicken evenly. Place the zip-top bag on a plate and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes but ideally 3-8 hours.
- PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE: Add all the ingredients for the peanut dipping sauce in a medium bowl and use a whisk to combine. If your peanut sauce is thick, you can add 1 tablespoon of hot water at a time to help thin it to desired consistency. Taste and adjust with more soy, brown sugar, or lime juice as desired.
- SKEWER: Preheat the grill on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, scrub, and oil the grates. Meanwhile, remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and place the chicken (like an accordion) on skewers. Pierce the chicken with the skewer and zig-zag the chicken through the skewers making sure to secure both ends on the stick.
- COOK: Place the chicken on the hot grill, cover, and cook for 4-7 minutes, flipping halfway through. The chicken is cooked through when it is slightly firm to the touch or registers 165ºF on a thermometer. Remove, the chicken and serve immediately with the peanut dipping sauce as an appetizer or over coconut rice for a full meal.
Notes
- Chicken: I sliced my chicken lengthwise into thin rectangles that were 1 inch in width.
- Indoor option: If you don't have an outdoor grill, this can be made in a grill pan, an electric grill, or a cast iron skillet indoors as well. Be sure to oil the pan and you may need to cook the chicken for longer than what's written in the original recipe. Chicken is done when it is firm to the touch.
- Wooden skewers: If you’re grilling these outdoors and using wooden skewers, let the skewers soak in water for 1-8 hours in advance. The sticks don’t burn and disintegrate as quickly if they are wet.
