‘Your weeknight saviour’: RecipeTin Eats’ 20-minute Thai chicken satay curry

Name: ‘Your weeknight saviour’: RecipeTin Eats’ 20-minute Thai chicken satay curry
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4-5 as a meal
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 270ml full-fat coconut milk; 2 tbsp canola oil; 120g green beans, trimmed then halved; 120g cherry tomatoes, halved

Nagi Maehashi’s new SOS column promises to be your weeknight saviour, as she comes to the rescue with a recipe that can feed four for $20 or less, is on the table in under 30 minutes and/or has 12 ingredients or fewer. This saucy curry ticks all three.

Nagi Maehashi

March 20, 2023

Chicken swimming in satay sauce.Nagi Maehashi

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:4-5 as a meal

The best thing about Thai chicken satay skewers is the peanut sauce. So why it’s taken me this long to create a Thai chicken satay swimming – yes, swimming – in peanut sauce is beyond me! You’ll have this on the table in 20 minutes flat. And the most amazing thing is that it tastes almost identical to my fan-favourite Thai chicken satay skewers recipe. To save time, all I did was skip the skewering (who has time for that on a weeknight?), simmered the chicken in the peanut sauce, and added some vegetables to make the dish more complete.

The SOS checklist

Ready in under 30 minutes ✔
Feeds four for under $20 ✔
Fewer than 12 ingredients ✔

Ingredients

270ml full-fat coconut milk
2 tbsp canola oil
120g green beans, trimmed then halved
120g cherry tomatoes, halved

SATAY Chicken

500g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2.5cm cubes
1 tbsp curry powder (any brand is fine)
1 tsp white sugar
½ tsp cooking salt
2 tsp red curry paste

Thai peanut sauce

120g (½ cup) natural peanut butter, smooth
1½ tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp curry powder
¾ tsp cooking salt
¼ tsp chilli or cayenne powder, optional
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1½ tbsp red curry paste
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1¼ cups water

To Serve

jasmine rice, cooked
¼ cup peanuts, roughly chopped
coriander leaves
sliced red chilli (optional)
lime wedges

Method

Step 1
Put satay chicken ingredients in a bowl with ¼ cup of coconut milk. Mix to coat, then set aside.
Step 2
Place all the peanut sauce ingredients, except water, in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. Add water and remaining coconut milk. Whisk until combined.
Step 3
Heat oil in a large heavy-based frypan over high heat until very hot. Add chicken and stir for 2 minutes. Spread chicken in a single layer, leave for 30 seconds, toss, spread, and leave for another 30 seconds. Do this twice more to get some colour on the chicken.
Step 4
Pour in the peanut sauce and add the beans. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer for a further 2 minutes or until the beans are tender-crisp and the sauce thickens.
Step 5
Serve over jasmine rice with peanuts, coriander, chilli and a wedge of fresh lime.

Tips

My favourite Thai red curry paste is Maesri brand, sold in small cans at some large supermarkets and Asian grocers. It tastes similar to homemade (most other brands are too sweet) and happens to be the best value.
Not all coconut milk is created equal! Look for brands with at least 85 per cent coconut in the ingredients. Economical brands can be as low as 30 per cent, resulting in a tasteless, watery sauce.
Chicken can be marinated for 24 hours. Leftovers can be kept for three days in the fridge, or frozen for three months.