Chicken Satay (Chinese Takeaway Style)

Make a restaurant classic in your own kitchen with this Chinese takeaway style chicken satay recipe.

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This chicken satay recipe recreates a famous Chinese takeaway dish at home. Tender chicken, crisp peppers and onions, and rich, aromatic and spicy satay sauce come together for a quick and delicious restaurant style meal in minutes.

This recipe is for a stir fry chicken satay dish – for starter style recipes you can try these chicken satay on skewers and satay sauce recipes.

Ingredients For Chinese Takeaway Style Chicken Satay

This Scottish Chinese takeaway style chicken satay recipe uses a familiar combination of ingredients including, of course, the essential Jimmy’s sate sauce (also sold as ‘Jimmy’s sate paste‘). You can find this aromatic sauce online or in Chinese supermarkets – it’s hot and full of flavour, and a little goes a long way. Tender chicken is stir fried with onion, peppers and carrot and combined with chopped garlic in oil, oyster sauce, satay sauce and rice wine to produce a deliciously savoury satay sauce dish.

• Oyster Sauce
• Light Soy Sauce
• Dark Soy Sauce
• Caster Sugar
• Sunflower Oil
• Onion
• Green Pepper
• Red Pepper
• Carrot
• Chicken For Chinese Takeaway Style Stir Fry Dishes
• MSG
• Chopped Garlic in Oil
• Light Chicken Stock
• Jimmy’s Sate Paste
• Potato Starch
• Rice Wine

Cook Like a Takeaway: Want to see the exact oyster sauce, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine I use in all my Chinese recipes? Check out my Chinese Takeaway Style Cooking Essentials guide.

How To Make Chinese Takeaway Style Chicken Satay

Making this Scottish Chinese takeaway style chicken satay is so easy and quick! First, the sauce is prepared. Then, onion, peppers, carrot and tender chicken are stir fried in a hot wok, along with MSG and chopped garlic. The prepared sauce is added and simmered with stock before being thickened slightly. Finally, A dash of rice wine is added to finish and Chinese takeaway style chicken satay is ready to serve.

Step 1: Sauce

In a bowl, add 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce and 1 generous teaspoon caster sugar. Mix briefly and set aside.

Step 2: Stir Fry

Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon sunflower oil and 1/2 onion, sliced, 1/4 green pepper, roughly chopped, 1/4 red pepper, roughly chopped and 1/4 carrot, thinly sliced. Stir fry for another 1 minute. Add 1 portion chicken for Chinese takeaway style stir fry dishes, 1/4 teaspoon MSG, 1 generous tablespoon chopped garlic in oil, the prepared sauce and 200 millilitres light chicken stock. Mix well, bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce reduces slightly. Add 2 teaspoons Jimmy’s sate paste (or to taste) and mix well.

Step 3: Finish

Slowly add 1 tablespoon potato starch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water, stirring well until the sauce reaches the desired consistency (you may not need all of the mix). Finish with 1 tablespoon rice wine, mix well once more and serve.

Recipe Tips For Chinese Takeaway Style Chicken Satay

Tender Chicken: This recipe uses chicken for Chinese takeaway style stir fry dishes. This simple velveting technique ensures you get deliciously soft and tender chicken pieces for your favourite takeaway style dishes.

Preparation: Stir fry dishes come together quickly, so it’s good to have all the necessary ingredients and sauces prepared and to hand before you start cooking. Once you start, it’s all go until the dish is sizzling hot and ready to serve!

I hope you’ll try this Chinese takeaway style chicken satay recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!

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Chicken Satay Recipe FAQ

What is Jimmy’s Satay Sauce?

Jimmy’s satay sauce is a deliciously fragrant and spicy satay sauce that’s commonly used in Chinese takeaway and restaurant kitchens. It’s packed full of flavour, so a little goes a long way. You can use it to make chicken satay skewers, satay sauce and more.

What is MSG and why should I use it?

MSG is monosodium glutamate, a seasoning ingredient widely used in Chinese takeaway kitchens, in pure form or as an ingredient in soy sauces and other seasoning sauces. Despite historic baseless claims of its dangers, it has been widely proven to be considered safe for use in cooking. In fact, many of the myths and lies about MSG were deliberately and maliciously spread as a form of racism. You can find MSG naturally in many foodstuffs including broccoli, cheese and tomatoes. It’s available online or in Chinese supermarkets. You can learn more about MSG from the brilliant Chin Taylor of Ziang’s Kitchen here.

Do I need a carbon steel wok to cook Chinese takeaway style dishes?

A well seasoned carbon steel wok is a wonderful addition to your Chinese takeaway style cooking equipment, and I would highly recommend investing in one. But, you can cook this dish in any wok or large frying pan and it will be delicious!

Can I use cornflour instead of potato starch?

Yes, you can use cornflour and water to thicken the simmering stir fry sauce. It will do a similar job, however a more consistent texture is achieved using potato starch.

Can I use beef / king prawns / vegetables instead?

Yes! This recipe also works well with beef, king prawns or mixed vegetables.

What’s the difference between light soy sauce and dark soy sauce?

In Chinese takeaway kitchens, chefs use light soy sauce mainly for seasoning – it’s thinner and more salty than dark soy sauce. Dark soy sauce has a thicker consistency and is used to add colour to stir fry sauces and egg fried rice.

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Do you like this Chinese takeaway style chicken satay recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Chinese Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make Glasgow Chinese takeaway style curry, salt & chilli chicken, char siu chow mein and more! You can buy The Chinese Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.

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