Chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce

Chicken skewers with dipping sauce are irresistible. When you flatten the chicken with your fist, you make the pieces look bigger. Think about it; you’re turning one big breast into 24 skewers, an appetizer that feeds eight. As a meal, you could probably eat that breast in one sitting, but would you ever sit and eat 24 skewers? Seems like a whole lotta food when at’s reconfigured that way, doesn't it?

Ingredients: 

For chicken:

12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1 large)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce

For peanut sauce:

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon chopped scallion greens

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

For the chicken: Cut the chicken into 1/4 inch strips across the grain. Lay the strips on a cutting board and gently flatten by pounding with your fist; they will be a variety of shapes and sizes. If some slices are very long (more then three bites), you may need to cut them in two. Place the chicken in a bowl with the oil and soy sauce and turn the chicken in the sauce to coat. Let the chicken marinate at room temperature for at least 20 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.

For the peanut sauce: Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, scallions, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes in a bowl and whisk together.

Preheat a flat griddle over medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade, pat dry, and thread onto skewers, discard the marinade. Place the chicken on the hot griddle so that the skewers are positioned away from the direct heat and cook the chicken until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve the skewers with peanut sauce for dipping. 

If you want to grill the chicken, soak the skewers in water for 20 minutes before threading the chicken onto them. This will help prevent the skewers from charring when cooking over an open flame.

Peanut sauce will keep for up to week in a refrigerated airtight container. But remember to take the sauce out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving to let it come to room temperature.