Delicious chicken satay or grilled chicken skewers marinated with spices and served with peanut sauce. Easy, authentic and the best chicken satay recipe you'll find online!

Satay

Satay or chicken satay conjures up a mental picture of perfectly grilled and nicely charred chicken skewers with mouthwatering peanut sauce.

Chicken satay is one of the most popular Asian appetizers and everyone loves them.

Now, how to make chicken satay at home?

It’s very easy and I have an authentic and the best chicken satay recipe for you, including the recipe for satay sauce!

My chicken satay recipe has been tried and tested by many readers. They are absolutely mouthwatering and delightful. Enjoy!

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Malaysian Chicken Satay is the Best!

There are many versions of satay recipes from Asia, but let me assure you that the best satay in the world comes from Malaysia, my home country.

Called “Satay Ayam” in Malaysian language, any real foodies who have been to the entire Southeast Asia region will agree they are the best!

While Thai chicken sate are tasty, they are inferior to the scrumptious and rich flavors of Malaysian chicken satay.

Chicken Satay Marinade

The marinade is the most important part of the recipe. The best satay are marinated with lots of spices and ingredients, such as the following:

Lemongrass
Garlic
Shallots
Turmeric powder
Coriander powder
Chili powder
Salt and sugar

Traditionally, home cooks pound all the ingredients above with a mortar and pestle until it becomes a fine paste.

Mix the meat (either chicken, beef or mutton) with the marinade overnight to ensure that that every skewer is s bursting with robust flavors.

Peanut Satay Sauce

This dipping sauce is a must for satay. To make the sauce, please check out my peanut sauce recipe.

Cook’s Tips

For the best and most authentic flavors, please follow my secrets and techniques below:

You can use a combination of chicken breasts, chicken thighs and legs. Cut each piece of the chicken meat into uniform pieces.
Marinate the chicken overnight with the marinade for deeper flavors.
Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least two hours. This will prevent the bamboo skewers from burning on the grill.
Use a pair of scissors to snip off the over charred and burned bits on the satay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chicken Satay Healthy?

Yes, satay is very healthy as the spices used in the marinade have a lot of nutrients and health benefits, for example: turmeric.

Can You Bake in the Oven?

You can certainly bake satay in the oven, or pan-fried on a skillet. They will taste delicious.

Can I Pan Fry on Skillet?

Yes, you can. For the best result, use a cast-iron grill pan to pan fry and cook on the stove top.

Can I Freeze Uncooked Chicken Satay?

Yes, you can. Just wrap uncooked and raw skewers with a few sheets of aluminum foil tightly and freeze in the freezer.

Thaw them at room temperature before grilling.

How Many Calories Per Serving?

This recipe serves six people and the calories are 263 per serving.

What to Serve with Chicken Satay skewers?

They are best served with Peanut sauce, sliced cucumber and cut onions. The cucumber and onion clean the palate between each skewer.

In Malaysia and Indonesia, rice cakes or ketupat are common. The rice cakes are cut into bite-sized cubes for serving.

If you are having an outdoor grilling or BBQ party, I recommend the following recipes.

Yield: 6 people

Chicken Satay (The Best Recipe!)

Name: Chicken Satay (The Best Recipe!)
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Chicken
Ingredients: 2 lbs. boneless and skinless chicken thigh and leg meat; Bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for 2 hours; 1 cucumber, cut into small pieces; 1 small onion, quartered; oil, for basting; 3 tablespoons oil; 2 stalks lemongrass, white parts only; 2 cloves garlic, peeled; 6 small shallots or pearl onions, peeled; 2 teaspoons turmeric powder; 1 teaspoon coriander powder; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 tablespoon salt or more to taste; 2 tablespoons sugar or honey

Delicious chicken satay or grilled chicken skewers marinated with spices and served with peanut sauce. Easy, authentic and the best chicken satay recipe you'll find online!

Prep Time 50 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

2 lbs. boneless and skinless chicken thigh and leg meat
Bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for 2 hours
1 cucumber, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, quartered
oil, for basting

Chicken Satay Marinade:

3 tablespoons oil
2 stalks lemongrass, white parts only
2 cloves garlic, peeled
6 small shallots or pearl onions, peeled
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon salt or more to taste
2 tablespoons sugar or honey

Instructions

Cut the chicken meat into small cubes. Set aside.
Blend all the he Marinade ingredients in a food processor. Add a little water if needed.
For the chicken satay dipping sauce, please click here: satay peanut sauce recipe.
Combine the chicken and the Marinade together, stir to mix well. Marinate the chicken for 6 hours in the fridge, or best overnight. When ready, thread 3-4 pieces of the chicken meat onto the bamboo skewers.
Grill the chicken satay skewers for 2-3 minutes on each side until the meat is fully cooked and the surface is nicely charred, on both sides. Baste and brush with some oil while grilling. Serve hot with peanut sauce the fresh cucumber pieces and onions.

Notes

Watch the cooking video on this page for step-by-step guide.

If you prefer white meat, you can use 2 lbs. or 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.

Click for Peanut Sauce recipe.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size

6 people
Amount Per Serving Calories 263Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 144mgSodium 727mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 2gSugar 7gProtein 31g

Comments

Rach
at
Do I still keep at 12 minutes if I just bake it at 375F without broiling?
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  I think that’s fine. You can broil for very quick to char the surface.
Janet Deverill
at
Hi Bee
I love your recipes as they are so tasty yet do-able. I like to print my recipes for reference, to refer to while cooking and to write on. In keeping with copyright, do users need to write to you to print a recipe or can we go ahead and click on the print button on any recipe? I would be happy to contribute a token amount or pay a small membership fee for the privilege of printing your recipes. I may only want a dozen or so recipes not all of them.
Also, I am interested in knowing a little of the origins of some of the dishes and including where in Malaysia they are from. Would you know of a source I could consult or would you consider adding any of this information when you might update articles?
Janet
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  Hi Janet, yes, please click on the print button. You do not need to ask for permission. I am from Penang, Malaysia. I don’t have time to update my recipes with sources. Thanks for asking.
Susie
at
I see that you do not recommend peanut butter as a sub in the peanut sauce but I cannot eat whole (or chopped) nuts and wonder if you had no choice but to use it , are there any changes you would make to the other ingredients (like how much sugar) to the peanut sauce recipe to keep the flavor profile correct?
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  You can try this Thai peanut sauce recipe: https://rasamalaysia.com/thai-peanut-sauce/
Mack
at
Hello,
Could you point me specifically to the video? I can’t find it on the page (every picture and link I hover over doesn’t go to a video) . Apologies if I’ve just very unobservant, and missed where it is linked/embedded.
Thank you.
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  The video is in the recipe card, at the bottom. It says in a very big header NEW RECIPE VIDEO!
  - Mack
    at
    I’m afraid something is therefore missing – on the bottom of the recipe card, I CAN see the following text:
    NOTES
    Watch the cooking video on this page for step-by-step guide.
    If you prefer white meat, you can use 2 lbs. or 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
    Click for Peanut Sauce recipe. [there is a hyperlink which works on the Peanut Sauce words.[
    [blank space]
    Nutrition Information
    [the box with nutritional info is here, and then the recipe card box border is below that.]
    But there’s no header saying “New Recipe Video” or any link. I’m using Google Chrome on my laptop, and I can see all the images, and all the links off the page, but just no video?
    - Rasa Malaysia
      at
      Please email me at [email protected] and send me screenshot and video. Scroll down from top to bottom.
      - Mack
        at
        Done!
Carolyn
at
What is the oven temperature if we were to bake this? Do we broil after baking? I have chicken breast thawing in the fridge right now and would like to try this this for a change. Thank you.
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  You can bake at 375F for 12 minutes and then broil. I think that should be fine.
Mayli
at
What if I don’t have lemon grass? Is it possible to substitute for another ingrediente?
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  You can skip.
Ad
at

Omg, another superb recipe from Bee. This recipe is so much much better than some of the premix sauce packet that I have bought from the Asian market. I will surely try this again with a little more honey coating. ??
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  Hi Ad, thanks for trying my chicken satay recipe. Yes, more honey is always better. :)
  - Bob
    at
    Where is the honey coming from ?
    - Rasa Malaysia
      at
      There is no honey in the recipe, you can use sugar. However you can use sugar or honey.
- Yenny
  at
  
  Delicious and easy! Taste just like home! I did make a few changes and additions:
  – Added 1 tsp fennel, 1 tablespoon fish sauce and 1 tbsp kicap manis and it really lifted the flavors.
  – Used boneless skinless thighs and left it whole for a faster simpler meal
  – Broiled it for about 7 mins on each side.
  Cooled and sliced and it was absolutely delicious! The whole family inhaled it! Thanks for this recipe and will definitely be making it again!
  - Rasa Malaysia
    at
    Thanks Yenny. If you added fish sauce and kicap manis, everything will be better.
Dan
at
Made this tonight (marinated on Sunday night) and cooked in a grill pan on the stove and it was fantastic! I have not had satay this good since my trip to Ipoh two years ago.
I will definitely have to make this again to cook on the charcoal grill.
Thanks for sharing the recipe :)
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  Thanks Dan!
Beth Springer
at
Best Chicken Satay and peanut sauce. Took a while to prepare everything but well worth the time!
- Rasa Malaysia
  at
  Hi Beth, thanks for trying my chicken satay recipe.