Begin by soaking 8 wooden skewers in water for half an hour. This will prevent them from burning when cooking.
Place the sliced chicken breast in a large bowl with the rest of the chicken skewer ingredients. Mix together using your hands and massage the sauce into the chicken for a minute. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 mins (up to overnight).
3 chicken breasts, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 garlic cloves, 200 ml (7 oz) coconut milk, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp coriander, ¼ tsp ground ginger
Whilst the meat is marinating, place all of the satay sauce ingredients EXCEPT for the lime juice into a small pan.
3 heaped tbsp smooth peanut butter, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, ½ tsp chilli flakes, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 200 ml (7 oz) coconut milk, 1 tbsp light brown sugar, ½ tsp ground coriander
Heat over medium heat whilst stirring with a wooden spoon. The sauce will look thin at first, then as it comes close to boiling point, it will start to thicken. Don't let the sauce boil, just turn down the heat as it approaches boiling point and stir until thickened, then turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice.* Note 1
juice of 1 lime
Take the skewers out of the water and give them a shake to remove excess water, then thread the chicken strips onto the skewers, and place the skewers on a plate.
Brush a little oil on the griddle (or BBQ), then heat until smoking. Place the skewers on the griddle and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden brown - turning a couple of times during cooking (you could grill/broil the skewers if you prefer). Cut into the thickest part of one of the pieces of chicken to check it's cooked. There should be no pinkness to the chicken.
Place the skewers on plates, then reheat the satay sauce if you like it hot. Serve in a bowl with the skewers. Top with fresh coriander (cilantro) and a few slices of red chilli. If you like lots of toppings, you can also top them with chilli flakes, a little red onion, a few chopped peanuts, and some sesame seeds.
1 fresh red chilli, 2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), ½ tsp chilli flakes, ¼ red onion, 1 tbsp roasted peanuts, 1 tsp sesame seeds
Notes
Note 1: The sauce can be served cool or warm, or you can reheat if you wish (the oil will separate a little from the peanut butter and coconut milk as it cools, but a good mix with a wooden spoon will bring it back together again).
Can I make Chicken Satay ahead?
Yes, you can marinate the chicken and place on skewers, then refrigerate for up to a day. The sauce can be made ahead, cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2-3 days. Place in a pan and reheat whilst stirring if you want to serve it warm. I wouldn't recommend cooking the chicken skewers ahead of time, as the chicken will dry out.
Can I make extra sauce?
This recipe comes with a good amount of sauce, but yes, you can double or treble the recipe if you like.
Can I make it gluten free?
Replace the soy sauce with tamari and check your fish sauce and peanut butter are gluten free (they usually are) and it should be fine for gluten free.
Other cooking methods (oven, bbq, grill)
You can place these kebabs on a barbecue or under the grill. You can even cook them in the oven (watch out, the kebab sticks will be HOT!) for approx 15 minutes at 200C/400F. Check they're fully cooked by ensuring they're no longer pink in the middle.Nutritional Information is per skewer (based on 7 skewers) including 1/7 of the sauce.