Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

by Katie Chin, Tastemaker in Residence

Hooray for Satay! I’m having 40 women over to my house tomorrow night for a fun night of pampering. I love to serve this chicken satay recipe because you can make it in advance and grill the skewers just before your guests arrive. You can also balance a martini in one hand while enjoying these skewers and still have a conversation. I like to serve it with a spicy side of cukes. You might want to double the peanut sauce as it’s super yummy and you’ll want to serve it with everything. Slice up leftover satay and make Thai Chicken Sliders and drizzle with peanut sauce for lunch with next day.

Ingredients

Chicken Satay
½ tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp minced galangal or fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 - 1pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts or chicken thigh, cut into 1-inch strips
14 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes vegetable oil, for grilling
butter lettuce leaves
fresh cilantro leaves

Peanut Sauce
3 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
¼ cup coconut milk
1 tsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Crushed roasted peanuts for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, and curry powder in a medium bowl, stir to combine. Place the chicken strips in the yogurt marinade and gently toss until well coated. Cover and let the chicken marinate in bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
2. Heat peanut butter, coconut milk, red curry paste, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and red pepper flakes over medium-low heat in small saucepan until the mixture begins to simmer, stirring constantly. Transfer to small serving bowl and garnish with peanuts.
3. Thread the chicken pieces onto the soaked skewers. Heat a grill pan over medium heat and brush it with oil. Grill skewers 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until nicely seared. Serve immediately with lettuce leaves, cilantro and spicy peanut sauce, allowing guests to remove wooden skewer and enjoy chicken wrapped in a lettuce leaf.