All-Purpose Thai Peanut Sauce
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Last summer ambitious garden plans got the best of us, mostly by way of the greens (kale and chard), which we just couldn’t keep up with. We learned our lesson and kept it simple this summer, planting five tomato plants in the raised bed and herbs — Thai basil, basil, and tarragon — in three large pots.
Thus far we’ve been able to keep up, picking the herbs often, weeding here and there, watering as needed. It has been such a treat having fresh herbs on hand, especially the Thai basil — one of my favorites — which I can only find at Asian markets.
In early June, when the Thai basil began flourishing, I made a double batch of She Simmers’ Easy Thai peanut sauce, a sauce I have made a number of times over the years, one I love for its versatility: for chicken satay, lettuce wraps, and fresh spring rolls. It, along with copious amounts of Thai basil, even transforms tofu.
I should note my uses for the sauce are probably inauthentic. Leela of She Simmers notes, “If you’re looking for a Chinese-style peanut sauce that goes over noodles or Vietnamese-style peanut sauce that is served with fresh spring rolls, this is not it. You can use this sauce in that way, if desired.”
Well, I do desire and confess: I like this sauce on noodles, too. Leela actually notes you can thin the sauce with more vinegar for a totally untraditional salad dressing. I like her thinking.
A few notes: I am not a fan of the grocery store options for Thai red curry paste (or any curry paste). It’s worth making the trip to an Asian market to stock up on the Maesri brand — it’s made with all good things — and tastes far superior to anything I’ve found at the grocery store. While you’re at the Asian market, you might as well pick up some coconut milk, too — you’ll save a boodle — and as many enormous bags of Thai basil you can can handle.
PS: Have you ever wondered how Asian markets can keep their prices for produce so low? This Lucky Peach article has some answers.
PPS: More chicken recipes here. And How to Cut up a Chicken.
Thai basil plant:
I love this peanut sauce for grilled chicken satay (chicken marinade is below)…
…and lettuce wraps: bibb lettuce, chicken satay, chopped peanuts, pickled carrots and daikon (see below), tons of herbs (Thai basil, mint, cilantro, basil, tarragon — whatever you have.) I like serving it with nuoc cham, too.
…and, my favorite, fresh rolls: lettuce, chicken satay, pickled carrots and daikon, herbs.
Love this Serious Eats recipe for pickled carrots and daikon. Will keep for weeks in fridge.
Chicken Satay with All-Purpose Thai Peanut Sauce
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4
Description
Source: She Simmers
It’s worth making the trip to an Asian market to stock up on the Maesri brand, which is made with all good things.
You can find the curry paste and coconut milk online, too — we used both of these brands when I worked at Fork, and I still use them today.
This recipe doubles well. You will have a ton, but it keeps for weeks in the fridge. The double recipe, too, will prevent you from having half a can of curry paste chillin’ in your fridge indefinitely. The sauce will thicken considerably in the fridge, so when you are ready to use it, thin it out with hot water or gently heat and add water to taste.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 2 breasts, lightly pounded and cut into strips
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
For the satay sauce:
- 13.5-ounce can of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 ounces (approximately ¼ cup) of Thai red curry paste
- ¾ cup unsweetened (natural) creamy peanut butter, like Smucker’s
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Whisk together the soy sauce, fish sauce, and vinegar in a large bowl. Place the chicken in the bowl to marinate for at least 20 minutes, then thread the pieces onto skewers.
- Preheat a grill to medium high. Put the satay sauce ingredients into a medium heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Let the mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes over low heat; be careful not to let the mixture scorch at the bottom of the pot. Take the pot off the heat, let the sauce cool down to room temperature (or slightly warmer).
- Grill chicken until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes total. Serve with satay sauce on the side.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
24 Comments on “All-Purpose Thai Peanut Sauce”
Oh! This looks so yummy. I absolutely love the flavor of Thai basil and am so happy to see this recipe. I will have to add it to next week’s menu plan.
Yessss. Do it 🙂
Looks great! Love that this recipe does not require fish sauce, which practically every Thai recipe does- my husband is allergic to all seafood and can’t eat anything I find in Thai cookbooks! It’s depressing. I’ll have to take a closer look at She Simmers… sounds rather… diligent about things but probably with good results!
I have been playing around in my head with ideas for a non-seafood based replacement for fish sauce… some combo of soy sauce and fermented mushrooms and… I’m not sure what else. Any ideas?
Beautiful and simple recipes as always- thanks!
Oh, that’s tough! Definitely re SheSimmers — strong, good opinions and good food to boot. OK, I just googled and found this recipe for vegan fish sauce: https://veganmiam.com/recipes/vegan-fish-sauce
Let me know if you make any discoveries! Thank you for your kind words as always.
This looks absolutely delicious!! I love Asian markets and Mexican markets are the same: gorgeous produce, inexpensive prices. xx
Thanks, Rebecca!
I love Thai basil too! Here’s a tip: I used to get seedlings from Home Depot or the farmers market, then I discovered that you can put sprigs of basil in a jar of water by a sunny windowsill and after a week or two, roots will grow and you can replant it. The best part is I would use Thai basil from the Asian market or leftovers from getting pho at a restaurant and those are usually the big lush leaves of basil unlike the smaller leaves from the seedlings so my plants were so nice and lush. I couldn’t believe it was that easy the first time I tried it. Works for regular basil too!
Wow! This is amazing, Laura, I had no idea. My leaves definitely are smaller than the Thai basil leaves I get at Asian markets or restaurants, so this is so good to know. And now I have an excuse to go out for Vietnamese this weekend 🙂
I am very interested in making your Thai Peanut Sauce! And I was even more interested when I read what you had to say about Thai Red Curry Paste.
I have only used red curry paste once before to make a ‘curry.’ I had no idea what I was doing. At the end, the poor miserable mess was SO HOT I could not eat it and threw it out.
Then I read up on curry paste online. I now understand that red is the hottest. The recipe I made tasted like chemicals.
I enjoy a ‘spicy’ flavor, but burning hot that feels like you need to be hospitalized, that is not for me.
My question to you, is the red Maesri brand burning hot? Would I be safe to cut the amount in half, and still get a good spicy flavor, not hot??
I will buy it from Amazon.
Thank you in advance for your time and expertise!
Sherry Ann Allen
Everett WA
Sherry, the Maesri brand definitely is hot! But, if you start with a small amount, you will be fine — add more curry paste to taste after the mixture simmers for 5 minutes. I suggest starting with a tablespoon then adding more accordingly. This paste does not taste artificial — it’s a really good product, adding both flavor and heat. I’ve been using is for years. Good luck with it! And let me know how it turns out.
Just finished making the Thai Peanut Sauce using the Maesri brand of red curry and as you suggested, I roasted raw peanuts and added the coconut oil to make my own peanut butter. I think this added a depth of flavor to the recipe. I also zested some lime peel and it brightened the flavor beautifully. Thank you so much for this recipe. It is reminding me of a fantastic restaurant on Vashon Island off the coast of Seattle,WA: May Kitchen (https://www.maykitchen.com). If you ever get the chance, go there you will be blown away with her Thai cooking.
Love that you made your own peanut butter for this — I think it makes a difference, too. And I think roasting the peanuts adds flavor to homemade peanut butter, too — I wasn’t doing that initially. Lime zest sounds amazing as does May Kitchen — I am dying to get to both Seattle and Vashon…now I have a good excuse 🙂
My husband said it was the best. He described the experience as having a bursting of a myriad of flavors similar to a fireworks display in his mouth. I used all the herbs you recommended which I think contributed to his taste sensations. He wanted me to make it two nights in a row. Now that’s an ultimate complement!
Oh yay!! This makes me so so happy!! Thanks so much for reporting back.
This is so perfect considering that we find that all of our favorite dips, salad dressings, and marinades all have some type of peanut sauce involved!
So true!
Hi,
Am I just missing it or is there really no “directions” just ingredients?
Oh my gosh, I have no idea how that happened! Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Instructions have been added!
Maesri is the best! The yellow is also great
This sauce was so fantastic, my wife and I love Thai food so much and try to make it at home when ever we can.
We live north of Philly and have a H-mart(Asian Market) close to home so all the asian ingredients are easy to get.
Also big fan of Fork in Philly, one of our fave places to eat.
bonjour. je tombe à l’instant sur votre blog. Il est très beau et donne envie de le regarder dans son entier. Les photos sont vraiment très belles et mettent l’eau à la bouche.
Merci merci merci!!!
I have saved this recipe to my phone for easy access the last few years and when I went to go see what I was missing from my pantry to complete this recipe the ingredients have changed. One thing I liked about the recipe was it was simple and didn’t require fish sauce (lot of people are allergic to fish sauce) but now there is two or more added ingredients which could make it taste better. But adding more ingredients makes it more expensive, at least when making changes to an already admired and delicious recipe the word (optional)should be added at end of the added ingredients.
Sarah, I think there was an issue with the formatting — I just edited it. The “for the satay sauce” header was attached to the vinegar, so it looked like a longer list of ingredients, but it wasn’t … I haven’t edited this recipe since it was posted. Hope that helps. Satay sauce is the same as always!