Chicken Satay, Peanut Sauce & Thai cucumber relish

Thai chicken satay with creamy peanut sauce and refreshing cucumber relish. Juicy marinated chicken skewers, packed with fragrant Thai spices, served with a rich, tangy dipping sauce.

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Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and thai cucumber relish

Author: Georgia Winch

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 1 HourInactive time: 12 HourTotal time: 14 Hour

Tender, marinated chicken skewers grilled until lightly charred, served with a rich, nutty peanut sauce and a fresh, sharp Thai cucumber relish. The creamy peanut sauce and bright, crunchy relish balance each other perfectly.

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

• Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 2-3 hourse
• 450g chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into roughly 2cm pieces
• 1½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted
• ½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted
• ¼ tsp white peppercorns
• 1 tbsp lemongrass
• 1 tsp fresh galangal
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp soft brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tbsp white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 80ml coconut milk
• 60ml water

Peanut Sauce

• 2 tbsp (30ml) Thai red curry paste, shop-bought or homemade
• 300ml coconut milk
• 100g Peanut butter (I like crunchy to add some texture)
• 1–2 tsp fish sauce, to taste
• 2 tbsp finely chopped palm sugar
• 30–45ml tamarind paste, to taste

Thai Cucumber Relish

• 80ml rice wine vinegar
• 50g caster sugar
• 30ml water
• 2–3 tsp finely diced fresh red chilli
• 40g finely diced cucumber, seeds removed
• 1 tbsp finely diced shallot, or red onion
• ½ tsp fish sauce

Instructions

Chicken Marinade

1. Add all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until you have a fairly smooth paste.
2. Pour the marinade over the chicken and use your hands to mix everything together, making sure each piece is well coated and separated. Cover and leave to marinate for at least 20 minutes, although over night in the fridge will give you the best flavour.

Peanut Sauce

1. Start by adding 60ml of the coconut milk to a small saucepan over a medium heat. Let it simmer until reduced by about half. Add the curry paste and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring regularly, until thick and fragrant. If it starts to catch or gets too thick, add a splash more coconut milk.
2. Add the remaining coconut milk, peanut butter, fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind paste. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened to a spoonable dipping consistency.
3. Give it a taste and adjust to your liking, you can add a little more palm sugar for sweetness, fish sauce for saltiness or tamarind for extra tang.

Thai cucumber relish

1. Heat the rice wine vinegar, sugar and water in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Then take off the heat and leave to cool.
2. Once cooled, pour over the chilli, cucumber and shallot. Add the fish sauce and give everything a good mix.