Chicken Satay (Grilled Chicken Skewers) with Peanut Sauce

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Looking for a quick, easy, and tasty meal idea? Look no further than this easy and delicious Grilled Chicken Satay recipe! With the perfect blend of spices and a creamy peanut sauce, this dish is sure to become a family favorite as a main dish or appetizer. Take your Chicken Satay, or grilled chicken skewer, to the next level.

Grilled chicken skewers are affordable and easy to adapt to any flavor profile. Marinated in a creamy yogurt sauce for a short period, grilled to perfection, and dipped in a simple peanut sauce, these are always a crowd favorite! This Chicken Satay recipe uses a great marinade, quickly grilled, and ready in less than 15 minutes.

Ingredients + Substitutions

Chicken is the main ingredient here and we like to use a combination of chicken breast and chicken thighs. You can use both or just one. Your choice! Plan 1 pound of meat for every three people. We also like to season with kosher salt and coarse black pepper before we put the chicken skewers on the grill.

Marinade Ingredients

• Plain Greek Yogurt – We prefer full-fat Greek yogurt for its texture and flavor. You can use regular yogurt but you’ll want to adjust the ratio of ingredients to be sure the marinade is not overly wet.
• Soy Sauce – We prefer low sodium so we can control the salt.
• Lime Juice – Freshly squeezed is ideal.
• Fish Sauce – Start light with the sauce, you can always add more in. A little goes a long way for flavor.
• Ginger – We like to grate fresh ginger using a microplane
• Turmeric – Turmeric adds a beautiful color. Similar to ginger, we use fresh turmeric and then grate it with a microplane. Dried turmeric can be substituted in a pinch.
• Garlic – For flavor and kick.

Peanut Dipping Sauce Ingredients

• Peanut Butter – We recommend plain creamy peanut butter (the real stuff with no additives, I mean it!).
• Soy Sauce – Low sodium
• Lime Juice
• Fresh Ginger
• Honey OR Thai Sweet Chili Sauce – This adds a touch of sweetness. Since we don’t use sweetened peanut butter we like to add a hint of sweetness. You can use honey or Thai sweet chili sauce. Both work great.
• Kosher Salt
• Hot Water – In small portions (120 degrees) to get the peanut sauce texture you like.
• Heat (optional) – If you like to live on the spicy side (like me) then feel free to add a dash or two of sriracha or your favorite hot sauce!

Chicken Satay Preparation

• Cut chicken into thin strips, about 2 to 3 inches in length, before marinating. By cutting the chicken prior to marinating you get more surface area for the marinade to flavor.
• Make the marinade in a large bowl and then place the strips of chicken into the chicken satay marinade.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or place in an airtight container, and then marinate in the fridge for your desired time. We recommend at least 1 hour.
• Layout a large sheet tray, then skewer the chicken and place on the sheet tray. It makes for easier clean up. For thinner cuts of chicken we like to weave, or thread, the skewer on the chicken. There will be smaller pieces so feel free to add two pieces to one skewer.

• For the Peanut Sauce: combine all the ingredients (except the water) in a small bowl. Then add small amounts of water and stir until you achieve your desired texture.

How To Grill Chicken Satay

1. Pre-soak the wooden skewers in water an hour before grilling.
2. Preheat Grill: Prepare the grill for direct grilling targeting 500 degrees Fahrenheit in the grill chamber. For a gas grill, this will be medium-high heat. 
3. Skewer and Season Chicken: Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it onto skewers. We double up some skewers with two shorter strips. Season the skewered raw chicken strips with salt and pepper.
4. Grill Chicken Satay: Place the chicken satay skewers on the grill grate over direct heat. Close the lid. Allow to sear for up to 5 minutes. Flip and continue to grill the skewers over direct heat for an additional 5 minutes. Check the internal temperature of the chicken and remove it when the grilled chicken reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Remove and Serve: Serve warm directly from the skewers with the peanut sauce.

Stovetop Modification – You can use a grill pan if you don’t want or have a grill. Set the grill pan to medium heat. Coat with a neutral oil and follow the same directions. On a grill pan you do not need to soak the skewers.

Make Ahead and Preparation

You can marinate in advance and make the skewers the day prior to any meal prep. Then cover the skewered chicken for up to 24 hours. Then put them right onto the grill.

The peanut sauce can be made up to three days prior. It will thicken in the refrigerator. To thin out, let the sauce come to room temperature. Then, if it’s still thick add more hot water in small increments (a teaspoon at a time).

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Pair with Chicken Satay

From side dishes to wine we have a few ideas when making this Chicken Satay recipe.

Side Dishes

• We like to serve chicken skewers with jasmine rice topped with chopped cilantro and roughly chopped peanuts, over the top of the skewers for garnish and flavor.
• You can serve with any of our salads or our grilled broccolini, which is easy to make while the skewers are cooking. The broccolini also is great for dipping in the peanut sauce!

Wine Pairing

The peanut sauce is the dominant flavor for food and wine pairing. It’s not overly sweet but does have a hint of sweetness. We recommend pairing it with an off-dry Riesling for a white option. For a red, a Côtes du Rhône blend (made from Grenache and Syrah) works great.

About Vindulge

Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.

Now on 2nd edition

Fire + Wine Cookbook

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“This book is a one-stop guide for anyone truly interested in elevating their BBQ experience into a culinary work of art.”
5 out of 5 Stars
San Francisco Book Review