This healthy Chicken Satay Curry is quick and easy to get on the table in under 30 minutes. The sauce is sugar free, and the dish is packed with veges. It comes together with a thick and creamy satay curry sauce that is easy to adjust the level of spiciness up or down according your your tastes.
Perfect for meal prepping, replacing your Friday night takeout, or even as a date night dinner for two, this peanut chicken curry will soon become your new best friend.
It’s quick. It's homemade. No pre-made sauces or sauce bases here. It's healthier and it's better than any takeaway satay chicken I’ve ever had. Its up there with this easy and quick Beef Satay Curry. Both great meal ideas for busy weeknights.
Recipe Highlights
- Get it on the table in less than 30 minutes
- Easy to make more or less spicy
- Its all made in one pan for minimal mess and clean up
- The sauce is homemade, sugar free and can be used in lots of different ways
- The sauce is thick and creamy with notes of curry and peanut butter
- Use up whatever veges you have in your fridge
- Makes for great leftovers the next day and is freezer friendly.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: I like using chicken breast for this recipe as it cooks quicker than thigh. Make sure to cut into evenly sized small chunks so that they cook evenly.
- Garlic and Ginger: I tend to use bottled garlic and ginger paste as its convenient, however I do think that this recipe is all the more better if you have fresh garlic and ginger on hand to use
- Curry Powder: The brand I used was “Clives of India”. I’ve also made it with “Keens curry powder” and “Ayam Curry Powder” which both work equally well.
- Honey/Sweetener: I use monkfruit sweetener that measures like sugar and have virtually no calories. Both honey and granulated sweetener can be used interchangable. However only use one of the other, don't use both as it will be too sweet.
- Peanuts: you can buy granulated peanuts from the baking aisle of most supermarkets. Alternatively you can use regular (unsalted) peanuts and and either leave them whole or crush/chop them.
How To Make
- Heat Arromats for sauce base: Heat a skillet on the stove at high temperature, adding onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder and chilli paste. Cook for a minute or two until onions become translucent and, mixture becomes fragrant.
- Cook chicken and veges: And add chicken pieces to pan and toss until they start to turn white (just cooked). Add veges and toss through for a further minute.
- Add Flavourings to make sauce: Add soy sauce, lime juice, honey/sweetener, peanut butter and ¼ of the coconut milk. Stir through, add rest of coconut milk ¼ cup at a time, stirring through until mixed together
- Cook and Simmer: Reduce heat to medium and cover with lid for 5 mins. Remove lid, sprinkle with granulated peanuts and chopped corriander
- Serve immediately with rice, a slice of lime.
To keep this dish as low in sugar as possible, I make sure to use a sugar free peanut butter. There’re usually not to difficult to find, and I generally buy the Kraft version that is sugar free and low in salt from the local supermarket (Woolworths).
Other Way to Use This Sauce
- Homemade Chicken Meatballs
- Chicken Skewers cooked on the BBQ
- As the sauce for a quick Chicken and vege stirfry
- As a sauce for and easy Chicken and noodle stirfry
- As a sauce for a Ground Chicken Stirfry with rice
- Drizzled over chicken breast
- Dipping sauce for crumbed chicken tenders
Common Questions
Its a rich and creamy, thick sauce with a tang. Depending on how you like it you can make it as spicy as you like it by adding more or less of the chilli and curry paste. Of course you can also leave the chilli out altogether if you don't like it.
Yes! I've made a double batch of this dish a few times and it freezes well. If you are making ahead, freeze without the rice, and don't forget to date and label your containers. The other great thing about this recipe is that it makes for excellent leftovers for lunch.
Expert Tips
- Heat Level: This is a mild to medium level curry
- Make it less spicy/less heat: reduce curry powder down to 3 tablespoons, and reduce chilli paste to only ½ a teaspoon
- Thinning Out the Sauce: If you find the curry sauce mixture becoming too thick or gluggy, thin out with a small amount of water at a time, stirring in between to loosen.
The level of heat in this recipe is Mild to Medium. For a mild curry, skip the chilli. for a Medium to Hot satay curry, add more chilli and a little extra curry paste.
The Best Types of Chicken For Satay Curry
- Chicken Breast: This is my favourite. I generally slice the chicken breast into thin slivers so they cook really quickly. If you like chunkier pieces, that'll work too and they might even hold the thick creamy sauce better.
- Ground Chicken: I've recently started using ground chicken in stirfries and am loving it. It cooks quick, holds the sauce well and tastes good. Plus you can avoid the chopping up of meat if you;re buying already ground.
- Chicken Thigh: I use chicken thigh for satay curry when I'm doing skewers, especially on the BBQ. I find that the extra little pieces of fat on the chicken thigh are ideal for adding extra flavour and keep the meat moist when BBQ'ed.
More Curry Recipes
Chicken Satay Curry
Ingredients
Chicken and Vegetables
- 500 grams/1 pound Chicken Breast, - sliced thinly
- 1 large brown onion, - diced
- 2 tbs fresh coriander/cilantro - roughly chopped
- 1 medium Red Capsicum/Bell Pepper, - sliced into 1 inch sticks
- ½ large Zucchini, - chopped into 1 inch pieces (about ½ cup)
- ½ cup Pumpkin, - chopped into 1cm/1/2 inch cubes
- 2 cups Cooked Rice, - Jasmine or Brown
- 2 tablespoons Granulated peanuts
Satay Curry Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon Grated Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Chilli Paste/Diced long red chilli
- 4 teaspoons Curry powder
- 2 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 tablespoon Honey/Granulated sweetener that measures like sugar
- 3 tablespoons Natural peanut butter
- 1 can/400ml - 13.5 oz coconut milk
Instructions
- Heat a skillet on the stove at high temperature, adding onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder and chilli paste. Cook for a minute or two until onions become translucent and, mixture becomes fragrant.
- And add chicken pieces to pan and toss until they start to turn white (just cooked). Add veges and toss through for a further minute.
- Add soy sauce, lime juice, honey/sweetener, peanut butter and ¼ of the coconut milk. Stir through, add rest of coconut milk ¼ cup at a time, stirring through until mixed together
- Reduce heat to medium and cover with lid for 5 mins.
- Remove lid, sprinkle with granulated peanuts and chopped corriander
- Serve immediately with rice, a slice of lime. For an extra kick, add a small sprinkling of red pepper flakes/red chilli flakes (Optional).
Notes
- Chicken: I like using chicken breast for this recipe as it cooks quicker than thigh. Make sure to cut into evenly sized small chunks so that they cook evenly.
- Garlic and Ginger: I tend to use bottled garlic and ginger paste as its convenient, however I do think that this recipe is all the more better if you have fresh garlic and ginger on hand to use
- Curry Powder: The brand I used was “Clives of India”. I’ve also made it with “Keens curry powder” and “Ayam Curry Powder” which both work equally well.
- Honey/Sweetener: I use monkfruit sweetener that measures like sugar and have virtually no calories. Both honey and granulated sweetener can be used interchangable. However only use one of the other, don't use both as it will be too sweet.
- Peanuts: you can buy granulated peanuts from the baking aisle of most supermarkets. Alternatively you can use regular (unsalted) peanuts and and either leave them whole or crush/chop them.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners.
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This one is on my list to try after making your other satay chicken one