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Grilled Thai Coconut Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce

Name: Grilled Thai Coconut Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce
Prep time: 51 min
Total time: 1 h 56 min
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: boneless chicken — 907 g; coconut milk — 218 g; fish sauce — 44 g; light-brown sugar — 25 g; curry powder — 15 g; garlic — 12 g; ginger — 15 g; vegetable oil — 14 g; chunky peanut butter — 109 g; lime juice — 30 g; soy sauce — 15 g; sriracha — 5 g; cold water — 59 g; salt — 5 g; cilantro — 15 g; string beans — 1200 g

Grilled Thai Coconut Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce reads umami 6.9, salinity 6.0 and funk & ferment 5.7 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Thai main, about 1 hr 56 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 8.6 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.3 / 10
Sour & Bright — 6.3 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.4 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.6 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.9 · Salinity 6.0 · Funk & Ferment 5.7 · Sourness 4.9 · Citrus 4.7 · Marine & Briny 4.5 · Nutty 4.4 · Richness 4.2 · Sweetness 3.8 · Allium 3.7 · Herbaceous 2.7 · Heat 2.4 · Warm Spice 2.3 · Floral 1.7 · Fruity 1.6 · Bitterness 1.1 · Earthy 1.1 · Smoke 0.6

What's in it (16)

boneless chicken — 907 g
coconut milk — 218 g
fish sauce — 44 g
light-brown sugar — 25 g
curry powder — 15 g
garlic — 12 g
ginger — 15 g
vegetable oil — 14 g
chunky peanut butter — 109 g
lime juice — 30 g
soy sauce — 15 g
sriracha — 5 g
cold water — 59 g
salt — 5 g
cilantro — 15 g
string beans — 1200 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 56 min (51 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 150.6 kcal, 14.1 g protein, 6.2 g fat, 11.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, curry powder, garlic, and ginger until the sugar dissolves.
Add the chicken thighs to the bowl, toss to coat completely, cover, and refrigerate to marinate, at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
Submerge the bamboo skewers in a dish of water and soak for at least 30 minutes so they don't scorch on the grill.
In a small bowl, whisk the peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, and sriracha until smooth, then whisk in the warm water a tablespoon at a time until the sauce is pourable but still clings to a spoon; taste and add more sriracha or salt if you like. Set aside.
Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high, about 450°F, and brush the grates with the vegetable oil.
Lift the chicken out of the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and discard the marinade. Thread the chicken pieces onto the soaked skewers, leaving a little space between pieces, and season all over with the kosher salt.
Grill the skewers, turning every 2-3 minutes, until deeply charred in spots and the chicken reaches 165°F at the center, 10-12 minutes total.
Transfer the skewers to a platter and let rest 5 minutes so the juices settle.
Scatter the cilantro over the skewers and serve hot with the peanut dipping sauce alongside.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Thai Peanut Pork Lettuce Wraps — Thai
Thai Peanut Chicken Satay Bowls — Thai
Dale Taldes Slippery Lemongrass Pork Noodles — Thai
Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Stir-Fry — Vietnamese
Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup — Thai

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, funk & ferment mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.