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You are here: Home / chicken / Thai Chicken Satay

Thai Chicken Satay

August 5, 2010 By Laura 8 Comments

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A traditional Thai Chicken Satay is a luxurious, rich and delicious dish that is worth the effort to make for yourself, using a homemade Thai Massaman Curry Paste.

This recipe ruined me for all other satay. Which is kind of a shame really because it is certainly more labor intensive than other satay. But it is oh so worth it.

Because of the labor involved, I recommend doubling the paste recipe and freezing the remainder, so that the next time you want satay it is an easier affair.


A sweet and sour cucumber salad is traditional with this, but I served this chicken with som tom, a Thai green papaya salad that will be on this site in a few days. If my low-carbing sister had not been dining with us, I would have also served jasmine rice on the side.

 

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Massaman Curry Paste
Adapted closely from True Thai, Victor Sodsook
Ingredients
  • 3 oz dried New Mexico chile peppers stemmed and seeded and soaked in hot water
  • seeds from 2 green cardamom pods
  • 1 1/2 t whole cumin seeds
  • 1 1/2 T whole coriander seeds
  • 2 t shrimp paste wrapped in a double layer of foil
  • 1/4 t whole black peppercorns
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1/4 t ground cinnamon
  • 1 thick stalk of lemon grass outer leaves peeled away, trimmed to 5 inches and finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 T finely chopped galangal peel first
  • 1/4 cup chopped garlic
  • 1/3 cup chopped shallots
Instructions
  1. Heat a small skillet over medium high heat. First toast the coriander seeds for about 30 seconds and then add the cumin seeds. Toast until darkened and fragrant, a matter of seconds. Dump into a small bowl to cool off.
  2. Toast the foil wrapped shrimp paste in the same skillet, a few minutes per side. It also will become fragrant.
  3. Use a spice grinder and grind the cooled whole spices until fairly fine. In the meantime, dump the galangal and lemongrass into the wet dry grinder and grind for about 30 seconds. Then add everything else, including the shrimp paste and ground spices, and grind to make a puree. You will probably need to add some of the chile pepper soaking water.

  4. Only grind until it is a fine, smooth and silky puree but not hot, otherwise you will start to cook the paste.

Recipe Notes

See here for how to make a curry paste without a wet dry grinder. 

 

Print
Thai Chicken Satay

Adapted from True Thai, Victor Sodsook

Course: Appetizer, grilling
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: coconut milk, curry paste
Ingredients
Marinade Ingredients:
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 4 T Massaman curry paste
  • 2 T dark brown sugar
  • 2 T fish sauce
  • 2 t ground coriander
  • 1 kaffir lime leaf, torn into smaller pieces
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into long, skinny pieces
Curried Peanut Satay Sauce Ingredients
  • 1 14- oz can coconut milk (this is one time where I am ok with low fat–I used full fat but would try low fat next time as the peanut butter makes the sauce plenty rich)
  • 6 T Massaman curry paste
  • 2/3 cup natural peanut butter (regular is ok too, I just prefer natural here)
  • 7 T dark brown sugar (or to taste)
  • 2 T fish sauce (or to taste)
Instructions
Make the Marinade
  1. Whisk together all of the ingredients except the chicken. Pour the marinade into a plastic or silicone bag with the chicken and marinate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Make the Satay Dipping Sauce
  1. Whisk the ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat. When totally combined, taste for additional fish sauce or sugar. Best served warm but room temperature is ok too.
Grill the chicken
  1. Traditionally the chicken is then skewered (because this would be street food in Thailand), but I find it easier to just grill the chicken pieces and serve with the sauce on the side. A Thai cucumber salad (see note below for link) is also traditional.

Recipe Notes

You can find a traditional but Spiralized Thai cucumber salad here.

 

 

Filed Under: chicken, coconut milk, curry, peanut butter, Thai dishes

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Comments

  1. Kudos Kitchen says

    August 5, 2010 at 8:08 am

    Great looking recipe. I've never made satay before but might need to try this one. I'm a huge fan of anything peanut butter so satay is right up my alley. Thanks for posting this!

    Reply
  2. James says

    August 5, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    I like satay a lot but have never tried it with Thai chicken. Such a great idea!

    Reply
  3. Eliana says

    August 5, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    This looks so incredibly tasty and worth the extra effort.

    Reply
  4. Joanne says

    August 6, 2010 at 5:24 am

    Moan. I have a serious weakness for all things satay. The PB sauce sounds amazing!

    Reply
  5. Elizabeth White says

    August 7, 2010 at 6:28 pm

    I've been obsessing over this recipe ever since you posted it. May have to break out of my pregnant lazy non-cooking rut and make it! I guess you can't buy Massaman curry paste pre-made, huh?

    Reply
  6. Amy says

    August 9, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    Mmmm I LOVE massaman. In fact, for dinner this weekend we had both massaman chicken and satay! (Although I bought it, of course) Even my kids can agree on this one…

    Reply
  7. Belinda @zomppa says

    August 21, 2010 at 6:41 am

    Oh, dare I try it too and never go back?

    Reply
  8. Katie Emily Evans says

    March 2, 2015 at 1:53 am

    Not quite the same as paying 50 baht for a bag full of them and eating them with an ice cold Chang in the wonderful evening heat, but they really are delicious and the fragrances that hit you are sure to bring back Thai memories! Highly recommend them on a charcoal barbecue too, just make sure the coals aren’t too hot.

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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