Indonesian Chicken Satay (Sate Ayam): Tasty Every Time

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Indonesian chicken satay is juicy, grilled chicken on skewers, brushed with spiced oil and smothered in bold peanut sauce. One of Indonesia’s five national dishes, and worth every minute.

Indonesian Chicken Satay

This chicken satay is all about succulent, grilled chicken pieces on skewers, generously drizzled with spicy peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce.

Indonesian chicken satay – or Sate Ayam in Indonesian – is simply delicious and moreish. It’s one of the most sought-after street foods in Indonesia. 

You will almost always find a seller or restaurants and other places to eat that sell this grilled chicken on a stick.

This modest but yummy dish is favored in Indonesian cuisine and is now considered a national dish. The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy officially chose it with Gado-gado, Nasi goreng, Soto, and Rendang.

Satay is influenced by the Arab traders who came to the country hundreds of years ago. It is basically the Indonesian version of Middle Eastern kababs/kabobs/kebabs. It consists of pieces of grilled meat on a skewer.

There are many types of satay, including chicken, goat, beef, and pork. However, the most well-liked are the ones made with chicken and goat’s meat. 

The way Indonesians make satay is easy. We don’t use too many spices or herbs when marinating the meat before cooking.

In fact, most street food sellers do not marinate the meat at all. However, they do brush the satay with spiced oil during the grilling.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s forgiving of ingredients. No kaffir lime leaves? Skip them. Can’t find Indonesian sweet soy sauce? The post explains what to look for. The dish still works — the core flavors are solid even with substitutions.
• Chicken thighs vs. breasts — both are explained. Thighs stay moist naturally because of the fat. Breasts need a proper marinade and careful heat management. This recipe covers both, so you get juicy results either way.
• The spiced oil brush is the real trick. Indonesian street vendors often skip the marinade entirely — they just brush spiced oil onto the chicken while it grills. This recipe gives you both options, depending on how much time you have.
• The heat level is adjustable. You can use fresh bird’s eye chilies, dried flakes, or red chili powder. Start mild enough for kids, crank it up for the adults — same recipe, just shift the quantity.
• Peanut sauce that’s built to go with it. The sauce isn’t an afterthought here. It’s central to what makes Sate Ayam taste the way it does. Rich, spiced, slightly sweet from the kecap manis — and made to drench every skewer.
• Leftover kaffir lime leaves don’t go to waste. The post links to other recipes — Lamb Tongseng, Ayam Suwir Bumbu Bali — so the whole bag of leaves actually gets used instead of sitting in the fridge until forgotten.
• The pickle side is a 5-minute thing. Cucumber, carrot, chilli, shallot, vinegar, a pinch of sugar. That’s it. Make it a few hours ahead, and it balances the richness of the peanut sauce perfectly.
• Serve it in the way that actually makes sense. Plain white rice is the classic. Lontong (compressed rice cakes), if you want to go more traditional. The post covers both, so you can pick whichever is already in your kitchen.

Key Ingredients

Skinless and boneless chicken, onion, garlic, ground coriander, black pepper powder, kaffir lime leaves, cooking oil, chilies, salt, and Indonesian sweet soy sauce are what you need to make this delicious Indonesian chicken satay.

When it comes to chilies, you can use either red chili powder, dried chili flakes, or fresh red bird’s eye chilies. You can also adjust the amount according to your taste. This recipe offers a not-too-spicy flavor that even your young children can enjoy. 

To make life easier, I must say that this recipe is very forgiving. You don’t have to fret if you don’t have kaffir lime leaves. I understand not everybody will have these exotic, fragrant leaves. So feel free to skip. But do use them if you can get them. You can always use the rest for other recipes, such as Lamb Tongseng, Ayam Suwir Bumbu Bali, Ikan Pesmol, etc.

For sweet soy sauce, please try Indonesian sweet soy sauce for an authentic flavor.

Ways to Make Indonesian Chicken Satay at Home

In this recipe, I recommend marinating the chicken before cooking. However, should you run out of time, you can prepare the spiced oil and brush the chicken pieces with it as you grill/ cook the satay. Try piercing the chicken pieces before threading them onto skewers to ensure your poultry is flavorful.

Needless to say, grilling the satay on a barbecue is the best way to make this Indonesian chicken satay at home.

However, you can cook them on a griddle pan or oven grill to create an equally delicious satay.

The Secret of Delicious Sate Ayam

And the secret of delicious Indonesian chicken satay lies in the freshness of the meat and the satay sauce. 

As you and I know, chickens can smell. Unfresh poultry meat is even worse. So, get a fresh chicken if you want to make your Satay. 

The most recommended one is boneless chicken thighs. Because they have more fats that make the Satay moist and not dry when it is cooked 

So, to prevent the Satay from drying out while cooking, I have to marinate it with a few spices and oil. Of course, I also have to watch the griddle pan very closely when I cook. I have to make sure the chicken cooks properly so it’s succulent, not dry. 

Last but not least, no matter how well the meat pieces are grilled, if they don’t have tasty peanut sauce over them, the Sate Ayam won’t be as good. 

Ways to Enjoy the Satay

Indonesians love their rice. It’s the main staple across the country. 

Hence, plain white rice is the most common companion for this chicken satay. Another option is to have your Sate Ayam with lontong, a hard-boiled rice cake. 

You can check out this post on how to make your lontong. 

As for the side, this satay is often served with a simple pickled cucumber, carrot, chili, and shallot. To make this pickle, you cube those three veggies and add a few tablespoons of white vinegar (I use lemon), a teaspoon of sugar, and salt to taste. Prepare the pickle a few hours before serving so the flavor will develop better. But if you want something similar with a more elaborate flavor, you can try my cucumber and tomato salad.

More Recipe Ideas From the Indonesian Kitchen

Should you need more ideas for Indonesian recipes for your next dinner, try this ayam kecap manis (sweet soy sauce chicken), macaroni Schotel, mie Goreng, and ayam goreng bumbu (spicy fried chicken).

Thank you for checking this recipe. I hope you are now thinking of making the chicken satay. When you do, it would be awesome if you could share your thoughts in the comments below. 

Please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen. 

Thank you and all the best.

Chicken Satay

5 from 47 votes

Indonesian Sate Ayam is the original of all the chicken satay. It's simple, easy and straightforward to make. Yet, it's so delicious and flavourful. Find out why we're the best ?

BY: Devy Dar

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Prep : 15 minutes mins

Cook : 30 minutes mins

Total : 45 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Equipment

• Mixing bowls.
• Pestle and mortar or
• Food processor
• Griddle pan or
• Oven grill.

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

For the chicken satay:

• 14.11 ounces boneless chicken cut in small pieces.
• 1 small onion.
• 4 garlic cloves.
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander.
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.
• ½ teaspoon salt.
• 3 kaffir lime leaves.
• 2 tablespoons oil.

For the peanut sauce:

• 3.53 ounces roasted peanuts see the note.
• 1 onion roughly chopped.
• 5 garlic cloves.
• ½ teaspoon salt.
• 1 teaspoon sugar.
• 3 red bird’s eye chillies.
• 1 cup of water.
• ¼ cup Indonesian sweet soy sauce.

Instructions

• If you use bamboo skewers, don’t forget to soak them for a few hours before you use them. It’s to prevent them from getting burned on the grill/ griddle pan.
• Pound the onion and garlic into a paste. You can use a pestle and mortar, or a food processor. 
• Then heat the oil in a small frying pan. Add the onion and garlic paste, the ground coriander, black pepper, salt and lime leaves. Cook until the herbs and spices release an aroma. Set aside.
• Put the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl and add in the cooked spices. Mix and stir well until all meat pieces are coated with the spices. Set aside to marinate for at least an hour or two.
• When you are ready to make your Satay, pierce the chicken pieces on the skewers and start grilling them. You can use your oven grill, a griddle pan, or even a barbecue. I find cooking the satay on a griddle pan is effortless and quicker. But I leave the choice to your preference.

For the peanut sauce:

• Put the peanuts, onion, garlic, salt, sugar, chilli, and water in a blender. Give it a blitz until you get a creamy but a bit grainy peanut mixture.
• Pour the mixture in a small cooking pan/pot and heat it up. When the peanut sauce is boiling, let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes before you turn the heat off. Set aside.

Assemble Indonesian chicken satay:

• Arrange the skewers on a plate and pour the peanut sauce over the satay. Then drizzle it with sweet soy sauce.

Notes

• Traditionally, Indonesians would fry the peanuts themselves. I’m a bit lazy, so I use roasted salted peanuts. But of course, you can always follow the original route that is frying the nuts yourself. 

• You can use chilli powder if you want. For the similar level of heat as this recipe, you would want to put 1 tsp chilli powder. If you love hotter sauce, you can always add more chillies.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 566kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1296mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g

Devy Dar

Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.