Thai Chicken Satay

Marinated and grilled chicken skewers go perfectly with homemade spicy peanut sauce.

Updated February 19, 2025

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Chicken satay skewers resting on a plate. — Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Why It Works

Blending the marinade makes short work of the fibrous lemongrass with a minimum of fuss.
Soaking the skewers keeps them from burning up on the grill.

I'm all over beef skewers. The thinly sliced flank steak sears well and remains tender over a very hot fire. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for chicken, which dries out quickly and ends up becoming flavorless poultry sticks. Of course, chicken skewers can be delicious when done right, with this chicken satay being a prime example.

The sweet, pungent marinade for these chicken includes fish sauce, lemongrass, sugar, lime, and turmeric, which imbues the chicken with flavor even after a relatively short soak of only an hour. On the grill, in order to maintain juiciness, a careful eye must be kept to ensure the chicken is pulled off when just cooked through. Even if you go over just a little, the skewers are still plenty good, thanks to the powerful marinade. A dip in a spicy peanut sauce also adds to the success here.

The pairing of the earthy and bright chicken with a creamy, spicy, and sweet sauce produces a chicken skewer that has the ability to change your mind about chicken skewers.

April 2013

Recipe Details

Thai Chicken Satay Recipe

Prep 10 mins

Cook 25 mins

Active 30 mins

Marinating Time 60 mins

Total 95 mins

Serves 4 to 6 servings

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

1 stalk lemongrass, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fish sauce, such as Red Boat
2 tablespoons palm sugar or light brown sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons freshly minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2-inch strips lengthwise
1 recipe spicy peanut sauce

Directions

Place lemongrass, oil, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, turmeric, garlic, coriander, and Sriracha in jar of a blender and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides as necessary.
Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag and pour in marinade. Place in refrigerator and marinate 1 to 2 hours, turning bag occasionally to marinate evenly. Meanwhile, soak the bamboo skewers in cold water.
Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto wooden skewers.
Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of coal grate. Alternatively, set all the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Grill chicken until browned on both sides and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter, let rest for 5 minutes, then serve immediately with spicy peanut sauce.
Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Special Equipment

Blender, bamboo skewers, grill, chimney starter (optional)

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
459	Calories
26g	Fat
25g	Carbs
34g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	459
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 26g	33%
Saturated Fat 4g	20%
Cholesterol 65mg	22%
Sodium 1840mg	80%
Total Carbohydrate 25g	9%
Dietary Fiber 4g	14%
Total Sugars 14g
Protein 34g
Vitamin C 2mg	12%
Calcium 62mg	5%
Iron 3mg	19%
Potassium 667mg	14%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.