Thai Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce, Revisited

6/16/09 Yum, yum, yum! Chicken on a skewer is one of my favorite meals. Add peanut sauce for dipping and I'm one happy girl. Just as delicious as I remembered it to be- I'll be revisiting this recipe often. This time I served it on top of carrot rice- they made the perfect pair!

1/13/09 All morning I was staring at the clock, waiting for lunch to arrive, so I could devour the rest of last nights leftovers. (What little that was left anyway.) While it tastes so good that it ought to be sinful, this recipe actually comes from Food Network's healthy celebrity chef Ellie Krieger. The only change I made was reducing the amount of chili flakes in fear of burning off my taste buds. But if you like it hot, you could surely use the full amount (1/2 tsp.) or maybe even more. I served it with brown rice (dredged in peanut sauce of course) and cauliflower, which also found itself dipping in the same yummy sauce. Having just finished off the last of the chicken (with sauce to spare), I find myself wondering "what wouldn't taste good smothered in this?"

INGREDIENTS

Marinade:

1/2 cup homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. Thai fish sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, pounded slightly and cut into 1-in. strips

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

Peanut Sauce:

1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. chili flakes
1 tsp. red curry paste
1 shallot, minced

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak 8 bamboo skewers for 20 minutes. (This prevents them from burning while grilling.)

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, shallot, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, and ginger. Add the chicken strips and marinate for at least 1 hour. (I left them in for almost 6 hours- the longer the better!) Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.

3. To make the sauce combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The dip can be made up to a day ahead of time and keeps for several days in the refrigerator. Reheat before serving.

4. Spray a nonstick grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high flame. While pan is heating, thread chicken onto skewers. Grill on each side until meat is cooked through and has light grill marks.

5. Serve chicken skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce, and garnish with basil or cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Serves 4 as an appetizer, 2 as a main dish.

(Adapted from Food Network)