
I grew up in Hawaii where Asian culture is predominant, and that’s why I have a huge love for Asian cuisine. Chicken satay is one of my favorite dishes. The peanut butter, plus the soy sauce, plus the red curry paste; produces such a wonderful balance of flavors. It’s sweet, savory, and spicy! I’m usually a very strong believer in marinating your chicken for as long as possible, but you don’t need to with this recipe. It has such a strong flavor, you can just cook it right away! There have been times I marinated it for a few hours, and times where I cooked it right away. And It tasted phenomenon either way! I hope you enjoy this easy Thai Chicken Satay recipe as much as me and my family does.
Details
This Thai Chicken Satay recipe is so easy. You are just going to get your chicken of choice. It can be breast, thigh, bone in, or boneless. I prefer boneless chicken. However, a bone in chicken thigh with the skin on, roasted in the oven to a crisp? That is also delicious. Anyway, put your chicken in a bowl with coconut milk, soy sauce, peanut butter, fish sauce, red curry paste, and brown sugar. Mix it well, then cover and let it sit in the fridge for as much time you have. I usually leave it for 30 minutes to an hour. Again, you can also cook it right away and skip that step. I like to cook the chicken until all of the liquids have evaporated and the chicken is a golden brown color. Just be careful not to dry the chicken out.
So the sauce for this is pretty much the same as the marinade except I add garlic and lime juice (at the end). I don’t always make the sauce, the chicken tastes amazing on it’s own. But when I do have the time to make it, my family loves to drench their chicken and rice in it. So you’re going to put all the sauce ingredients EXCEPT the lime juice in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer until it thickens. Once the sauce is done, squeeze the lime juice onto it.
I typically like to serve this with white rice and steamed broccoli. However, I have also made it with some vermicelli noodles, and it was so good. Don’t forget to garnish it with some green onion. It adds such a nice flavor. I also like to leave the lime on the table in case anyone wants some more lime juice on it. I try to make this easy Thai Chicken Satay dish once a week to keep my hungry family happy.
If you like this, check out my YouTube page for more easy and delicious recipes.

Easy Thai Chicken Satay
Ingredients
For the marinade:
- 2.5 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs cubed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup coconut milk from a 400 ml can
- 3 tbsp soy sauce (we like our food on the saltier side, add one less tbsp. if you prefer less salt)
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1.5 tbsp brown sugar
For the peanut sauce:
- Remainder of the coconut milk
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1.5 tbsp lime juice
- green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with all the marinade ingredients, EXCEPT the olive oil and incorporate well. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (the longer the better). However, if you are in a rush you can cook it right away.
- Warm up a pan on medium high heat with the olive oil and add in the chicken. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the chicken is golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
Peanut Sauce:
- Add all the peanut sauce ingredients, EXCEPT the lime juice to a saucepan. Mix well on high heat. Once the sauce starts to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer until it thickens, about 7-9 minutes. Once the sauce is done, add in the lime juice. You can serve with the sauce on the top of the chicken or on the side. Serve with white rice and garnish with green onion.