15 Minute Crispy Chicken Skewers with Satay Sauce

Juicy chicken covered in a golden sesame crumb pairs perfectly with a savoury peanut sauce. These quick 15 minute crispy chicken skewers with satay sauce will soon become a family favourite.

Classic Chicken

Chicken is such a staple ingredient for so many of us! It’s versatile, inexpensive and a healthy source of lean protein.

Chicken is packed full of many extremely important nutrients such as vitamins B6 and B12, niacin, selenium and phosphorus, to name just a few. It’s no wonder that chicken is so hugely popular the world over.

One drawback of this classic ingredient though is that it isn’t always that quick to cook. This means I don’t use chicken a whole lot in my quick recipes. Which is a shame, as it’s so great! One reason chicken can’t be rushed is that it’s extremely important that it’s cooked thoroughly, otherwise it becomes a health hazard. A whole roast chicken for example, can take up to 2 hours in the oven. Not great if you’re in a rush!

So although I don’t use chicken a whole lot in my quick cooking, all is not lost! It’s still perfectly possible to make delicious chicken based recipes that are also super speedy. You just have to get a little creative! These 15 minute crispy chicken skewers with satay sauce are perfect example of quick cooking with chicken.

For these, I use chicken breasts. Now, a whole chicken breast takes a fair amount of time to safely and completely cook through. So the key here is to slice each breast into four thin strips, thread each strip onto a skewer and then fry them in a pan. Slicing the breasts up thinly massively decreases the amount of time taken to cook them, which is why I’ve chosen to do that for this quick recipe.

Chicken can be fried plain of course, but I like to add a deliciously crunchy coating to these 15 minute crispy chicken skewers with satay sauce to really boost the flavour and texture. For this crunchy coating, I use breadcrumbs and black sesame seeds.

Ready made breadcrumbs are easy to find in most stores these days, making this a very useful quick cooking ingredient. I’ve added the black sesame seeds for two reasons. Firstly, they have a lovely earthy nutty flavour. Secondly, they given the chicken a lovely speckled coating that’s loads more interesting that just plain old beige breadcrumbs alone would be.

Check out another one of my favourite quick recipes that also uses yummy black sesame seeds; my 15 Minute Miso Salmon with Spinach.

Perfect Peanuts

I can’t think of a more perfect pairing than chicken and satay sauce! That’s why I’ve happily included this classic sauce in this 15 minute crispy chicken skewers with satay sauce recipe.

The creamy, earthy and slightly sweet taste of the satay blends so beautifully with chicken. It’s no wonder that this is such a winning combination. This sauce also features one of my favourite ingredients – peanut butter! Often a star ingredient of my quick recipes, peanut butter is readily available in stores and works brilliantly in both savoury and sweet dishes alike. It’s the main ingredient in satay sauce of course, which originates from Indonesia.

In fact, I am so often inspired by traditional South East Asian recipes in my quick cooking. The flavours from this part of the world are just so delicious! Such recipes can often be made in record time, also. Not to mention the fact that the cuisine is often so vibrant and healthy.

Check out some of my other south East Asian inspired recipes like this 15 Minute Beef Ramen, these 10 Minute Thai Green Tuna Fishcakes with Chilli and Lime Mayo and these 10 Minute Massaman Prawns with Rice Noodles and finally, my 15 Minute Miso Salmon with Spinach. So quick to make and so yummy!

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO MAKING THE PERFECT 15 MINUTE CRISPY CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH SATAY SAUCE

Serves 2-3

Have a read below for a handy step by step guide on how to make the perfect 15 minute crispy chicken skewers with satay sauce, including some helpful photos to guide you along in the process;

STEP 1;

To get started, grab a large frying pan and pop it over medium/high heat. Add one tablespoon of olive or vegetable oil.

STEP 2;

While the pan heats up, it’s time to make your tasty chicken skewers! Take two skinless chicken breasts and with a sharp knife, slice each one lengthways into 3-4 evenly sized strips. Whether you slice into 3 strips or 4 really depends on the size of the chicken breast. If it’s rather small, do only 3 strips but if it’s large, slice it into 4.

Thread each chicken strip onto a wooden skewer. Stretch each strip out so it stays nice a long. You don’t want the strips ‘bunching up’ on the skewers or they won’t get properly coated in the crumbs nor will they cook in time. The strip needs to stay nice and slim in shape!

STEP 3;

It’s time to crumb your chicken! Get hold of three large bowls or plates. They need to be wide enough that you can pop the chicken skewers in and coat them evenly in the mixtures, however not too flat at the sides or the ingredients may fall off (especially the egg).

In the first bowl/plate, pop in 3 tablespoons of plain flour.

In the second bowl/plate, crack one egg and beat until nice and scrambled with a fork.

In the final bowl/plate, add 6 tablespoons of breadcrumbs plus 2 tablespoons of black sesame seeds and finally, a generous pinch of salt. Give it a quick stir so the ingredients are combined.

You can make breadcrumbs yourself from scratch by grating bread (old, slightly stale bread is best) but this takes extra time so you can just purchase ready made breadcrumbs in the store which is what I tend to do. Much quicker!

STEP 4;

Take one skewer at a time and firstly, pop it in the flour until coated. Next, pop it into the beaten egg until coated and finally, pop it into the breadcrumb and sesame seed mixture and roll it around until fully coated.

STEP 5;

Once a skewer is fully coated as above, place it into the preheated frying pan. Cook each skewer for around 2 minutes each side. Turn it so all 4 sides are cooked. (So total cooking time around 8 minutes). Importantly, for the final 2 minutes of cooking time, place a lid over the pan. This traps in the heat and ensures the strips get cooked through fully.

Note that the total cooking time may need to be adjusted – a little less time for very thin strips and a little more for thicker strips.

You may be able to fit all of your skewers into one pan together if your pan is large enough, or you may need to do them in batches if not.

STEP 5;

As the chicken skewers cook, it’s time to make the satay sauce. In a medium bowl, add 3 rounded tablespoons smooth peanut butter, 3 tablespoons coconut cream, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 3 teaspoons lime juice, 3 teaspoons runny honey and 3 teaspoons fish sauce. Stir it all together until combined into a glossy, smooth sauce.

STEP 5;

Nearly finished! Remove the chicken skewers from the heat when they’re done. Make sure they’re cooked through without any pink meat.

Place them on a serving plate and put the satay sauce into a serving bowl for dipping. Great with some crispy salad on the side and tastes wonderful wrapped inside a flatbread if you fancy. Dig in!