Chicken satay with cashew sauce and mango salad

Chicken satay is usually served with peanut sauce, but I wanted to create a version with cashew sauce, for people who are allergic to peanuts. You could also make a meat-free version, using tofu instead of chicken.

Credit: Mary Makes It Easy

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Chicken satay

• 2 (about 450 g) chicken breasts, cut into 12 strips*
• ½ cup (125 ml) coconut milk
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (45 ml) soy sauce
• 3 tsp (15 ml)  fish sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
• 5 cm (2 in) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk lemongrass, thinly sliced
• ½-1 red bird’s eye chili (or ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne) 
• 2 tsp brown sugar or honey
• 1½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• canola oil, for cooking
• coriander leaves, for serving
• lime wedges, for serving

Dipping sauce

• ½ cup cashew butter
• ¼ cup (60 ml) coconut milk
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1½-2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2-3 tsp sriracha

Mango salad

• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1½ tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• ½-1 red bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced, optional
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 firm mangoes, peeled and sliced into ½ cm (¼-inch) sticks
• 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), thinly sliced
• ½ cup picked coriander (cilantro) leaves
• ¼ cup chopped roasted cashews

Marinating time: at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Resting time: 5 minutes.

Instructions

1. Place the chicken tenders into a bowl or a large zip top bag. Add in coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, shallot, ginger, lemongrass, chilli or cayenne to taste, brown sugar or honey, turmeric and coriander and mix everything together until the chicken is well coated. Seal the bag or cover the bowl with plastic and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. While the chicken is marinating, soak 12 wooden skewers in a dish of water on the counter.
2. Thread the chicken onto the skewers and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes. Discard remaining marinade.
3. Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking together the cashew butter, coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, soy sauce and sriracha to taste.
4. Make the mango salad by stirring together lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, chilli and shallot in a large bowl. Add mango, red capsicum, coriander and cashews to the bowl, toss to combine.
5. Preheat a grill or a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Add a few teaspoons of oil to the pan and cook the chicken in batches until golden brown and cooked through to 75°C (165°F), turning the skewers occasionally. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes.
6. For serving, scatter the chicken with coriander and serve with lime wedges, cashew sauce, and mango salad.

Note

For a meat-free version, leave out the fish sauce and substitute the chicken with a 350 g block of extra firm tofu.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.