Thai chicken satay skewers

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Thai chicken satay with peanut sauce

If you can’t be bothered making the peanut sauce (or if you want a lighter option) you can leave it out; the marinated  skewers are still delicious on their own with a squeeze of lime and some fresh coriander, mint or basil scattered on top. The sauce is pretty good though!

Ingredients

600g-1kg boneless chicken thighs or breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp fish sauce
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp lemongrass paste (or finely mince 1 fresh lemongrass stem)
1 tbsp peanut or rice bran oil

Peanut sauce
1/3 cup peanut butter (or 3/4 cup roasted peanuts, processed to a crumb)
1 tbsp peanut or rice bran oil
1 tsp sesame oil
3 shallots, minced (or 1 medium onion)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch of chilli flakes
1 x 400g tin coconut cream
¾ cup chicken stock (reduced salt), or use water
1 tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1-2 tsp lime juice, or to taste

Fresh chopped coriander, for serving
Extra lime wedges, for serving

Method

Chicken
To make the marinade, mix everything together in a large bowl. Add the chicken and mix to coat well. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 20 minutes or overnight.

Sauce

Place a medium frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the two oils and shallots/onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the peanut butter, stock, coconut cream and soy sauce. Stir, and simmer gently (don’t let it boil) until thickened into a sauce. Stir occasionally. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar – you can keep adjusting these until the balance of salty, sweet and sour are too your taste. Turn the heat off.

Chicken
Thread the marinated chicken onto skewers that have been soaked in water.

Heat a splash of oil in a hot frying or grill pan, or on a barbecue heated to high, and cook the skewers until the chicken is cooked through, turning them to brown evenly.

Arrange the skewers on a plate and either drizzle the sauce over the chicken or serve it in a dipping bowl on the side. Serve with coriander leaves and extra lime wedges.