Chicken Saté with Peanut Dipping Sauce

We’ve been eating more chicken than usual lately, and I’ve been struggling to find ways to keep things interesting. The freezer has been packed with boneless, skinless chicken breasts so that’s what we’ve been working with, but I really prefer the dark meat of chicken thighs – it’s much more flavorful and doesn’t dry out as quickly. A marinade or dipping sauce usually helps when it comes to chicken breasts, and this recipe has both! It was also way outside of our comfort zone, specifically the peanut dipping sauce. It’s not something either of us has had before, and though I generally have a sense whether Shane will be game to try new things, I double-checked before adding this one to the menu.

I served these for dinner, but I think they’d also be a fun appetizer. The ingredient lists for the marinade and sauce are on the long side, but the two have many ingredients in common, and for the most part they were things I keep on hand anyway. The only big change I made was to modify the dipping sauce to dial back the heat by eliminating the red curry paste it called for. Oh, and I also halved the sauce as well – this recipe makes a lot, you will have leftovers even if you scale back. In the end, I think we both would have been happy to eat the chicken even without the sauce – it was tender and flavorful thanks to the marinade. That said, the peanut dipping sauce took it to another level, so good! Shane was a bit skeptical, I had to remind him of his promise that he’d at least try it 🙂 Fun, flavorful and relatively healthy – can’t ask for much more than that from a weeknight dinner!

Chicken Saté with Peanut Dipping Sauce
adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Peanut Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chicken
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup light coconut milk
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
1/2 cup peanut dipping sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts

To make the sauce: Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of your food processor. Process until smooth. You can make the sauce ahead and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

To make the chicken: Whisk the chicken broth, coconut milk, soy sauce, shallot, garlic, brown sugar, lime zest, and ginger together in a wide, shallow bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Set a grill pan over medium-high heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. While the pan heats, remove the chicken from the marinade and thread the strips onto skewers. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is cooked through. Garnish with the cilantro and peanuts and serve with the peanut dipping sauce.