Five minutes and five ingredients are all that stand between you and this gorgeously creamy peanut satay sauce. Just mix your ingredients and you’re done. It truly could not be easier. Brilliant as a dipping sauce, paired with grilled chicken, tossed through salads and noodles or dolloped onto toast!
I like to think of this lovely peanut sauce as a cheat’s version of satay sauce. Generally that’s cooked with coconut milk, and often includes freshly ground peanuts and a longer list of ingredients.
Here, we skip all the complicated steps to create a sauce that is SO incredibly moreish and just as good (if not better!) that a classic peanut satay sauce.
It’s truly as easy as mixing your ingredients in a bowl, and then pouring in water until you reach your desired consistency. And it takes less than five minutes. I use this sauce ALL the time so love having it on hand – it’s great dolloped on top of grilled chicken or beef, tossed through noodles for a speedy meal, used as a salad dressing, as a wonderful dipping sauce for dumplings or Vietnamese spring rolls – the possibilities are truly endless.
Ingredients
- Peanut butter. Use natural peanut butter (so anything that lists just peanuts and salt in the ingredients list). Using a brand that has added sugar will impact the flavor of the sauce.
- Sweet chili jam. This is a brilliant shortcut ingredient because it gives you a lot of flavor in one go – garlic, ginger, chili, acidity and sweetness – you can use a store-bought jam or sweet chili sauce, but if you have time, I recommend giving this sweet chili jam a go for the best flavor.
- Fish sauce. This provides a layer of deep savoriness that soy sauce alone can’t mimic, so I urge you to use it if possible. You can get vegetarian fish sauce too (this is normally made with mushrooms). I promise it won’t make the sauce tasty fishy! If you really don’t want to use it, just replace it with more soy sauce.
How to make it
Add the peanut butter, sweet chili jam, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil to a small bowl. Use a fork to mix into a thick paste, then mix in the water until you reach a sauce with the consistency of double cream.
Five ways to use the sauce
- Make this juicy charred peanut chicken or these chicken satay flatbreads.
- It’s the dressing I use in this very popular satay crispy rice salad.
- Use it as a dumpling dipping sauce (try these chicken and mushroom potstickers, juicy pork dumplings, crispy dumpling cups or pair it with smash dumpling tacos).
- Toss it through through noodles for a quick, easy meal.
- Drizzle it over salads or grain bowls (it’s fab with this crunchy Asian slaw or smacked cucumber salad).
Got a question?
It will keep for at least 1 week, stored in the fridge (if you don’t use it all immediately!)
Like this recipe? Try these easy, speedy sauces next
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Five Minute Peanut Satay Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the ingredients. Add 1/2 cup of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of sweet chili jam to a small mixing bowl, or a large jar.
- Add the water. Use a fork (or a small whisk if you have one) to mix the ingredients into a thick paste. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of water, mixing as you do, until the sauce reaches the consistency of double cream.
- Use and store. Use as a dipping sauce, salad dressing, dollop onto grilled chicken, beef or tofu, toss through noodles or dollop onto toast.
