Chicken Satay

With the upcoming Super Bowl, I have been featuring various appetizer recipes in my blog. One of my favorite Thai appetizers is Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce. Satay is popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and the Netherlands. You'll find that the recipes for satay vary in each country, but it invariably consists of chunks of meat skewered and grilled over a wood or charcoal fire. While I would love to be able to do that to impart a genuine grilled/smoky taste to my chicken, we don't have a grill... so I use my George Foreman grill instead and it seems to turn out pretty well.

This was the very first recipe I tried for Chicken Satay. I loved it so much, I haven't tried any others. Whenever I make the peanut sauce for the Cold Sesame Noodles, I always make a little extra because I love to use it as a dipping sauce for this dish. Some Thai restaurants will also serve this with a cucumber relish. The cucumber is refreshing and helps cleanse the palate before you take your next bite of the chicken. I don't have photos of it, but I have included a recipe for the cucumber relish below.


Chicken Satay
from Allrecipes.com

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I used Sambal Oelek Chili Paste)
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed

In a mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, curry powder, garlic and hot pepper sauce. Place the chicken breasts in the marinade and refrigerate. Let the chicken marinate at least 2 hours, overnight is best.

Preheat a grill to high heat. (I used my George Foreman grill.)

Weave the chicken onto skewers, then grill for 5 minutes per side. (With the George Foreman grill, I find it takes only about 3-5 minutes total, depending on how big your pieces of chicken are.)

Yield: 12 Servings.


Peanut Sauce
from Tyler Florence

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 green onion, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red chili paste, such as Sambal Oelek (omit this if you don't tolerate spicy foods well)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1-1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons hot water

In a small saucepan, heat the peanut oil over medium-low flame. Add the green onions, ginger, garlic, and chili paste. Cook and stir for a minute until soft and fragrant. Mix in the brown sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, and hot water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the peanut butter has smoothed out.


Cucumber Relish
from Mom :)

1 cucumber, diced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
dash of salt and pepper

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add the cucumbers and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.