The CHINESE takeout version of chickenย satay! This Chinese Satay Chicken Stir Fryย is quite different to Malaysian and Thai satay, but just as delicious.
This is a made from scratch chicken satay recipe, andย there is every possibility you already have everything you need to make this. Similar to the Everyday Chicken Curry, the simplicity of the spices required will surprise you.
Chinese Satay Chicken Stir Fry
For years, Iโve been trying to extract restaurant secrets from my local Chinese restaurant. Each time I go, I weave a question innocently into the conversation, trying to pick up one more tip.ย Ask too many, or be too obvious, and they clam up and shake their heads. โNo, no, noโ, heโd say, shaking his head.
So I paused, trying to think ofย a clever way to extract the secret of his Satay Sauce from him.
โErrโฆ.How do you make your Satay Sauce?โ I asked. Full marks for word smithing. I should have been a detective โ brilliant, crafty questioning skills.
Butย to my surprise, he actually answered.
โWe use Jimmyโs. But we change it!โ, he said almost defensively, daring me toย judge him for using a bottled sauce. โWe add things. We make better!โ
โOh! I know Jimmyโs! What do you add?โ I asked.
โNo, no, noโ, he said, clamming up.
Bugger. I went too far.
Chinese Satay Sauce
The Chinese take out version of Chicken in Satay Sauce is quite different from Malaysian, Thai and Indonesian Satay Sauce. Itโs less coconut-y and less peanut-y (are they real words??), doesnโt have bits of crushed peanuts in the sauce, and hasย a stronger flavour from satay seasoning.
As my local Chinese takeout owner says, there is actually no such thing as satay in Chinese cuisine. But over the years the popularity of satay generally has evolved such that almost every neighbourhood Chinese restaurant here in Australia has x, y and z in Satay Sauce on the menu.
The brand of Satay Sauce that my Chinese restaurant refers to as using as their sauce base is called Jimmyโs Sate Sauce.ย Itโs sold in someย Asian shopsย and even at some fresh produce stores, like Harris Farmsย (not at all stores).ย Aย Chinese friend of mine told me that itโs quite widely used in restaurants, but always with other ingredients added.
However, because even I sometimes struggle to find Jimmyโs Sate Sauce, I decided to create a Chinese Satay Chicken Stir Fry made from scratch.ย Itโsย a homemade copycat and Iโm the first to admit itโs not exactly the same.ย But itโsย similar, and most importantly, it is a darn tasty satay sauce thatโs easy to make with ingredients youโll find at most supermarkets. Oh โ and you know exactly what goes into it!
I like to useย chicken thighย for stir fries because itโs juicier than breast and tenderloin. If I make this with chicken breast, I alwaysย tenderise it using a Chinese restaurant technique using baking soda (bi-carb). Itโs super simple, see directions here: How to Velvet Chicken.
This is a simple recipe thatโs easy enough for midweek. Noย grinding peanuts, not even chopping up lemongrass (I use lemongrass paste, it works better for this recipe). In my more โseriousโ Chicken Satay Curry recipe, I insist on using both peanuts and fresh lemongrass. It has more steps and uses more equipment than this recipe and it is definitely worth the effort.
But in my world, stir fries should be fast and easy to make. So I made thisย Chinese Satay Chicken Stir Fryย straight forward. And if I do say so myself, itโs darn tasty! โ Nagi x
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Chinese Satay Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
Tenderised Chicken, optional (Note 5)
- 8 oz / 250g chicken breast
- 3/4 tsp baking soda (bi carb soda) (optional)
Satay Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder (Not US Chilli powder! See Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tsp Curry Powder (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Satay Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp light soy sauce (Note 3)
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp Sriracha (or other hot sauce)
- 1/2 tsp lemongrass paste (Note 4)
- 1/3 cup coconut milk (full fat)
- 1/4 cup water
Stir Fry
- 1 tbsp peanut oil (or other plain oil)
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- Shallots/scallions , sliced (optional garnish)
Instructions
Tenderise Chicken (optional)
- Cut chicken in half length wise then slice thinly. Place in a bowl with baking soda, use fingers to coat. Set aside for 20 minutes.
- Rinse well, pat dry with paper towel then place in a bowl.
Seasoning
- Mix together Seasoning.
- Sprinkle 1 tsp of Seasoning over chicken. Mix to coat then set aside for 10 minutes (not critical, can skip this).
Sauce
- Place all ingredients except water in a bowl. Add remaining Seasoning. Mix, then add water and mix.
Stir Fry
- Heat oil in wok or skillet over high heat. Add onion and garlic, stir fry for 1 minute.
- Add chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes until just cooked through and a bit browned.
- Lower heat slightly, then add Sauce. Stir fry until it reduce down and becomes thicker โ 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
- Serve immediately with rice โ or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! Garnish with sliced shallots/scallions if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Chinese Satay Chicken Stir Fry recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
Iโm still travelling Japan and his boarder continues to report that ย it seems Dozerโs not missing me at allโฆ.
Youโre on a roll this week missus! Made this last night as I love satay and never even attempted to make it at home. On top of that, I had all ingredients at home. Or so I thought. Mid-through mixing the sauce I realised that the coconut milk can I saw in my head was only in my head. Played with the thought of using yogurt and almost caved in but then went to the shop (apropos your last blog!) โ and was glad I did (even though the advertised 20 minutes prolonged a bit:)! The sauce was lovely. But. The meat. Oh boy! Amazeballs. How come I didnโt know about this tenderising thingy yet??!?!?!? It was amazing. So soft. And yet crunchy. Couldnโt get over it! (Nor could the BF.) Forever grateful. (Unless you tell me that eating too much of it can kill me or something. Then youโre my enemy for life. But, hopefully, we will avoid this.) ๐
If eating too much of it can kill you then Iโm in TROUBLE! ๐ So glad you liked this, thanks so much for your feedback!! N xx
We love your Chicken Satay Curry, Nagi, so Iโll defintely be making this! Iโm sure Mr. Fussy will be delighted.
Mr Fussy will be my ultimate test for this creation! ?
Just wanted to tell you that my family is eating this right this very minute. Huge thumbs up from the kids who are the toughest critics naturally. I love how versatile this dish is. It can easily take all kinds of additions like veggies and tofu. I added a heavy dash of fish sauce for fun just because., you knowโฆThailand. Thank you for introducing this dish to me. Iโve never seen it in Southern California.
OOOOHHHH!!! I am so SO happy that everyone is enjoying this! And youโre right, itโs so versatile. I do enjoy putting vegetables in it โ like shredded carrots and even bean sprouts because the sauce clings so well to them!! Great way to do hidden veggies!
Very good Nagi, nice meal. Love the Sauce and chicken any time. Hope YOU Are over Tired enjoying your self!! As for our Friend thatll be Right , will be rotten spoiled. Regards and fantastic Cold Holiday!
he is ALWAYS spoilt rotten!!!! BA HA HA!
Made it this arvo. Cracker! (as usual)
Nagi. For those of us that repeatedly cook from your blog, would you be open to putting a search bar at the top of the page rather than only at the bottom? 1st world issue I know but it would be great to be able to have it at the top as well for my go to recipes. From an android phone itโs a lot of scrolling to get to it
Cheers
Pavi
Made this for tea after most of preparation done earlier. It wad delicious and looked just like on screen. Served it with rice and your oh so simple no yeast flatbreads which have become a family favourite.
Iโm so pleased to hear you enjoyed it Maureen!! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
โCrackerโ โ BA HA HA! Now THAT is a compliment I get! ๐ Thank you for trying my recipes Pavi, Iโm so pleased you enjoyed it! And thank you for prompting me to make that change, it has been on my โthings to doโ for ages! ๐ N xx
Hi Nagi,
This is my family favourite dish. Cooked this last night, you have created a creditable tasty and easy to made, which I always want to cook. Not from the chinese take-way any more so oily. Thank you.
Nagi, I have this to share, I have used to made the sate paste like the chinese take away ( recipe from a person I have worked with more than 15 years ago, whose cousin owned the chinese restaurant.). i lost her contact. they use 1/4 mash pumpkin, 1 jar jimmy sate, ground tumeric powder, curry powder, garlic powder. 1/3 coconut block ( they are real hard block use for restaurant from few asian supermaket hard to find) , peanut butter, forgot need onion powder or fresh and coconut milk or not, cook all to paste. they freeze seperate batches. when time to use.. brown meat onion or vegi then put sate paste and coconut milk.
But above recipe was still oily. I will use your. Thank you
Pumpkin?? PUMPKIN?? OMG that isโฆI never in a million years would have guessed that!!! Thank you so much for those tips, I want to create one using Jimmyโs Sate Sauce and will use your tips!! I may forgo the pumpkin thoughโฆ. ๐ N xx
Omigod Nagi! Just had this for dinnerโฆ itโs EXACTLY like a take out! How did you figure it out??? I think maybe the bicarb does alter the flavour of the meat a bit โ thatโs my theory anyway. I cheated and added Jimmyโs Sate sauce, to substitute the Sriracha. Will definitely be dong this again โ soooooo quick, sooooo easy!
Thatโs not cheating at all! ๐ Gosh, it would have made the flavours even MORE โkapowโ!! Took me a few goes to get it, I started with a traditional Malaysian satay base and went from there. Had a big container of the satay from my Chinese takeout that I kept comparing it to!!! So pleased to hear you enjoyed it, thanks Eileen!
Nagi, I have never tried satay chicken but I love the look of it! I will have to omit a thing or two (as there is no way I am finding lemon grass here) but I am making it!
Oh gosh it is SO SO GOOD Julia, I do hope you try it! ๐
Hi, made this last night,,love the bicarbonate on chicken,loved mixing the spices and the sauce, itโs fun to make and very yummy to eat.
Woooooaaaahhh!!!! That was SO FAST! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Iโm so pleased that you enjoyed it. N xx
This is one of my favourite comfort meals. Itโs very similar to mine but just a bit easier.
enjoy yourselves!
ME TOO!!!
*smile* Have to try this before I comment! No reason anything cannot be used in a stir-fry, as long a a nationality is not attached to it. Oft eating alone I find stirfries superfast and superhealthy [hmm! well โ with heaps of vegetables!]. Did fall in love with them at street stalls and markets in Singapore decades ago, but knew they were really Indonesian or Malaysian in origin. Satay sticks were/are popular also . . . this surely is a fusion of Indian seasoning and a very unusual sate sauce bowing to China ๐ !! To my way of thinking thoโ it should not be called โChinese stirfryโ . Have to try after I figure how to get heaps of vegetables on side . . .
My apologies: moving too fast previously โ the word โthemโ 3rd line above obviously refers to Indonesian/Malaysian satays, the sentence before to Chinese stirfries as usually prepared in the various provinces โ I love Szechwan and Hunanese ๐ !
Chinese TAKEOUT Chicken Satay Stir Fry!!
This looks like a winnerโฆ.I love chicken Satay I usually eat in Thai restaurant. Happy you recreated from scratchโฆalways best knowing truly what we are eatingโฆ:)
Ooh I LOVE Thai Satay too! Actually, yet to find a version of Satay that I donโt love!
Hi Nagi,
YouTube Khoan Vong he owns a Chinese takeaway in England and has nearly 300 videos..He also uses Jimmyโs satay pasteโฆThis guy is amazing, cooking is about learning, everybody learns from everybody elseโฆItโs magic.
Chow from Scotland x
PHIL! You are my HERO OF THE DAY, possibly the week, month even! I am about to lose my evening trawling through his videos, thank you x 1 million, this is exactly what Iโve been looking for!
You are more than welcome Nagi,I accidentally found him last week on YouTube and thought Iโd share my find yourself.
Enjoy Nagi.
Phil x
PS I love the way he lists MSG as an ingredient in his recipes!!!
MSGโฆ.. Or flavour as he sometimes says ?
This is one of my favourites too! I am never fussed about being authentic ๐ But havenโt food a good one since moving so will have to take this for a whirl!
Iโm so glad to hear you say that!!! I know itโs not authentic, but I canโt help it, I loooooove it!!
Holy Yum! The lighting in your videos is always perfection. ๐
Aww thanks Kev! I film where i shoot ๐
I tries this recipe, it was amamzing!
Woah โ what?? Youโve tried this ALREADY????? ๐
Hi Nagi, Sounds absolutely delicious. I thought Satay originated in Indonesia and the traveled back to the Netherlands where it is a favourite pub snack. My Asian grocery store only has dried lemongrass. Could I just boil that in a little water and use the liquid? Incidentally, in my next life I want to come back as a Golden Retriever in your house! Dozer has got it made.
Hi Rob! I think that will work a treat re: rehydrating dried lemongrass. ๐ I have heard that Indonesian food is quite prominent in the Netherlands, I only read that recently! PS I often think that about my afterlife tooโฆ.
This satay does sound tasty. I was glad to hear that your takeout guy said that satay is not Chinese cuisine, until I realized that the original satay recipe I found many years ago, was called Singapore satay. And the population of Singapore is primarily Chinese.โฆ The satay sauce I like the best (the original one I made that I no longer have the recipe for) does not have lemongrass. I think it also didnโt have coconut milk. I know that when Iโm on a cruise ship and they make satay, they always put lemongrass in the sauce and I donโt care much for it; the version they do is supposed to be Indonesian, but Iโm not sure it is. If I try this I hope I can find lemongrass paste (we donโt have a wide variety of Asian foods here, though we do have a couple of Asian groceries). Thanks for the tip on preparing fresh lemongrass.
He was quite adamant that it was not Chinese!! Like he was making a point!!!
That looks so good!! Iโve never eaten this before and it is certainly something Iโm looking forward to trying. Iโll have to be on the lookout for lemongrass in a tube. We do have lots of herbs squished in a convenient tube. Could I make that with pork? Hope youโre having a great time. Happy Valentineโs Day! xoxo
I think that tube is just fine! Sounds like what I have here. And YES to pork!! Romantic dinner tonight Marisa?? โค๏ธ
Oooh Nagi โ if I ordered Chinese with you, this would be at the top of my wishlist too. How wonderful that youโve figured out a way to make your own!
This is definitely going to be popular by the way โ anything โsatayโ or just โpeanutโ has ended up being really popular on my blog!
Woah โ Helen. How is it you are bashing away on the keyboard so soon after giving birth???
Believe me, Iโm not bashing away that much! I just canโt resist still checking out my favourite blogs ๐