Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce

I had an overabundance of shnitzelized chicken and wanted to try chicken satay, which is a skewered chicken and decided to skewer it not in chunks but rather as a shnitzel.

I researched a number of recipes and tried all different kinds and in the end, made up my own. What put me in mind of this was a bottle of peanut sauce DH spotted in our local shop. As I’ve previously mentioned (in the copycat bone sucking sauce post) you aren’t guaranteed to find sauces and the like here on a regular basis, so I’ve learned to make my own copycat versions.

After fiddling with it quite a bit (and poor ol’ DH eating many versions and bearing up manfully), I finally found my eureka moment. Aha! this is it.

As in the bone sucking sauce, there’s a bunch of ingredients but you’ve probably got ’em all in your pantry and it’s quite simple. I use two bowls at the same time since there are similar ingredients in the marinade as in the dipping sauce and yes, you need to make both, so do it together.

The chicken should marinate for at least two hours to get the proper flavor and I’ve served this both hot and cold (or room temp) and it’s really delicious both ways.

Again, since I was too lazy to fire up the grill, I broiled these under the broiler instead. So start with your chicken breasts. You take a skewer and carefully insert it through the middle part (thickest, also) and line ’em up in rows on a parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet like so.

As you see, you sorta weave the skewer into the breast so it won’t flop off (don’t worry, after cooking it’s not floppy).

Next prepare the sauces.

I chose to use a natural peanut butter (smooth) for this since it’s far more liquidy in texture than a Skippy or Jiff type and makes it much easier to stir into the sauce. Remember that the nut butter has a similar effect to sesame seed paste (techina) in that it absorbs and thickens. Just sayin’, so you shouldn’t be surprised at that effect.

Keep your marinade bowl on one side and dipping sauce on the other.

And I tell you shamelessly that I used frozen chopped garlic and frozen chopped ginger. Yay, it enables me to whip up stuff on the spur when I don’t have the fresh. Add shhh I even used dried minced onion. You can, of course, use fresh. But you don’t have to 😉 .

and whip up the dipping sauce too.

You just stir it all up together, each sauce with its ingredients and done. Then set aside (or refrigerate) the dipping sauce and then pour the marinade over the prepared chicken.

Cover loosely and put in the fridge for 2 hours. Now, the skewers get a bit covered in sauce, but to prevent them burning (since soaking them doesn’t always work, annoyingly) I simply covered the protruding ends with bits of tin foil after the two hours. It worked a treat.

Turn on your broiler to 425 F (or low broil) and when ready place the chicken (on the baking pan with the parchment and yes, it’ll char a bit but should survive the whole process) and broil 7 minutes on one side, take out pan and carefully turn over the chicks and about 5 minutes on the other side. I say approximately since you need to know your oven and the thickness of the chicken breasts are a factor. Don’t overdo them and dry them out but if you are worried, cut one in the center to make sure it’s no longer pink. It shouldn’t be more than 7 minutes one side and 7 minutes for the other. While I’m a fan of shortcuts, do not attempt to broil on one side only cuz it’s a pain to turn over. It will not come out properly.

You remove the tin foil before serving. You can serve on a big platter and pass around the dipping sauce or I like to plate them with a small saucer filled with the peanut dipping sauce on the side. Simply elegant, good for Shabbat, entertaining, a first course or a main. This is very forgiving since, as I mentioned, it’s also delicious at room temp.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Marinade for chicken (this can be doubled if you wish)

1/4 creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons chopped ginger frozen or fresh
2 tablespoons molasses or silan (date syrup, or honey which I less prefer)
1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped onion or the equivalent of minced dried onion, about 2 tablespoons dried
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil

14 medium cut shnitzels (chicken breast) not too thin, not too thick
Skewers for the chicken

Dipping sauce
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil (not olive or coconut! the flavor is too pronounced)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons chopped ginger
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Start by taking a rimmed baking sheet and place a piece of parchment paper on it. Then take out skewers and carefully thread them through the middle of the chicken shnitzels in the meaty middle point (see pic above) till they are all skewered. Lay the chicken down on the parchment paper.

Stir together all the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the chicken. Marinate in fridge for at least 2 hours. These can be marinated overnight but then they may need a bit less cooking.

Next, prepare the peanut dipping sauce by stirring all ingredients together till smooth and incorporated. Refrigerate till needed.

Let the chicken come to room temperature and turn on the broiler to 425 F or low broil.

Place under the broiler for 7 minutes take out and turn over, replace under broiler and broil the other side of the chicken for another 5 minutes approximately till cooked through and not pink inside. It should not need more than 7 minutes on the second side in total.

Serve piled high on a platter with dipping sauce in a bowl to pass around or plate with a little individual saucer with sauce on the side. Delicious hot or room temp.