Grilled Chicken Satays with Peanut Dipping Sauce

View Instructions

Makes:

8 to 12 skewers

Prep Time:

25 minutes, plus marinating

Cook Time:

10 minutes

Category:

Chicken

Introduction

About this Recipe

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A travel-inspired starter, this dish was designed to bring to mind a trip to Singapore’s Lau Pa Sat market in the heart of the city’s financial district. At 5 p.m., the old market becomes surrounded by long tables in front of charcoal barbecues, and you can order dozens of these slender skewers with a cold beer—the perfect fuel after a hard day at the office.

The key to satay success is to use slender pieces of chicken and not pack them tightly onto the skewers. Because the satays are cooked over high heat, even well-soaked skewers will burn if the chicken takes too long to cook.

NOTES: The peanut sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The satays can be made ahead and marinated in the fridge overnight.

TIP: This marinade suits all sorts of proteins, wonderful if you want to batch up and prepare an assortment for a party. You can use it with 1 lb (450 g) peeled 21/30 shrimp (two per skewer), 1 lb (450 g) trimmed beef sirloin or a 1 lb (450 g) package of extra-firm tofu, cut into sticks.

Ingredients

Satays:

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1¼ lb/570 g g)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp (6 g) finely grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp (25 g) packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp (30 mL) fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp (30 mL) rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp (30 mL) hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp (15 mL) fish sauce
Splash of sesame oil
Diced fresh chilies, chili flakes or hot sauce (optional)

Peanut Sauce:

2 Tbsp (30 g) peanut butter
2 Tbsp (30 mL) water
1 Tbsp (15 mL) soy sauce
1 Tbsp (15 mL) fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp (12 g) packed light brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

for the satays, trim away any excess fat from the chicken thighs and cut each thigh into four strips.

Step 2

In a bowl, whisk the garlic, ginger, brown sugar, lime juice, vinegar, hoisin, fish sauce, sesame oil and chilies (or hot sauce, if using) and pour this over the chicken. Cover and chill for 2 to 8 hours to marinate.

Step 3

While the satays are marinating, prepare the peanut sauce. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk all the ingredients until the sauce becomes smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool and then chill until ready to serve.

Step 4

Skewer the chicken onto bamboo skewers, putting two to three strips of chicken on each (yielding eight to twelve skewers total).

Step 5

Preheat a grill on high heat and grill the satays for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until cooked through, turning halfway. Serve immediately with the peanut sauce.