This easy and delicious peanut satay sauce uses simple ingredients, including whole peanuts, and takes less than 15 minutes to prepare from scratch! My peanut satay sauce is creamy, savory, and spicy, with a hint of sesame flavor. It is dairy free, gluten free, and vegan, and it pairs well with so many different dishes!
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Ways I Use Peanut Satay Sauce
My peanut satay sauce is very versatile and works great when added to different meals.
- Tofu satay
- Noodles
- Dip for vegetables
- Wraps
- Marinade
- Glaze
- Salad Dressing
- Dipping sauce
Be sure to check out my recipe for Thai Peanut Noodles, a family favorite which can be easily prepared in an Instant Pot using this peanut satay sauce.
What's Best About My Peanut Satay Sauce
- My recipe uses dry roasted, unsalted whole peanuts instead of canned peanut butter which sometimes contains artificial preservatives. This differentiates this recipe from other peanut satay sauce recipes which often use canned peanut butter as a starting point.
- Using whole peanuts rather than pre-made peanut butter makes a world of difference in the taste and texture in this sauce. It's simply irresistible!
- There are no artificial preservatives in this peanut satay sauce, just a few basic ingredients making it a healthier choice.
- It is quick and easy to make coming together quickly in a food processor in just 15 minutes.
- It is dairy free, gluten free, and vegan.
- You can easily adjust the spiciness of this sauce by adjusting the amount of sriracha and chili garlic paste.
Peanut Satay Sauce Origins
Peanut sauce is widely used in Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Chinese cuisine, with different versions of the sauce adapted to local tastes.
The authentic Indonesian peanut sauce, known as “Bumbu Kacang”, uses whole peanuts fried in oil along with red chilis, ginger and garlic. It is crushed with a mortar and pestle rather than a food processer, seasoned with cumin, coriander, and lemongrass, and sweetened with pasty palm sugar and kecap manis, a sweetened version of soy sauce. Tamarind and a hint of lime juice are used to balance out the spicy and sweet flavors.
The Singaporean and Malaysian version of peanut satay sauce call for shallots and galangal along with garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, and tamarind pulp to bring out the sourness of the sauce. The Thai version uses pre-made red Thai curry paste along with shrimp paste for a deeper umami flavor.
This peanut satay sauce recipe is an adapted fusion of flavors from the various South Asian peanut sauce recipes described above. It is customized to suit American tastes and is so quick and easy to prepare!
Ingredients
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Sesame seed oil
- Rice vinegar
- Sriracha
- Red chili flakes
- Low sodium tamari
- Maple syrup
- Chili Garlic paste
- Lime juice
How To Make Peanut Satay Sauce
My easy peanut satay sauce comes together quickly in a food processor in a few quick steps as follows:
Roast the peanuts and sesame seeds: Roast the whole peanuts on the stovetop until lightly browned, and then do the same for the sesame seeds. Place both in a food processor and combine until you have a buttery texture.
Combine remaining ingredients in a food processor: Combine the remainder of the ingredients in the food processor for another minute or so to reach a smooth consistently, adding water as needed to reach desired consistency.
Recipe Note: The spiciness comes from the sriracha and chili garlic paste. Rice vinegar and lime juice add tartness. If you want to reduce the spiciness, simply reduce the amount of sriracha and chili garlic paste.
How to Store
Peanut sauce stores well in the refrigerator easily for months, since it contains rice vinegar which acts as a preservative. The sauce will get thick when stored in a refrigerator, so take it out of the refrigerator prior to using to allow it to come to room temperature.
FAQs
Initially the sauce was meant as a sauce for satay, a dish made of sliced or diced meat grilled and then served on skewers. This sauce is very popular in Southeast Asia and almost every country has its own version peanut satay sauce.
In addition to using peanut sauce as a satay dipping sauce, you can use it as a salad dressing. It tastes great with fresh spring rolls and on a buddha bowl. It is perfect for use as a marinade and as a stir fry sauce. Once you start experimenting, you will find yourself peanut sauce on everything.
Peanut sauce stores well in the refrigerator easily for months, since it contains rice vinegar which acts as a preservative. The sauce will get thick when stored in a refrigerator, so take it out of the refrigerator prior to using to allow it to come to room temperature.
Recipe
Peanut Satay Sauce
Ingredients
Pantry:
- 150 g Peanuts roasted - 1 cup
- 20 g Sesame seeds roasted - 2 tablespoon
- 2 tablespoon Sesame Seed oil
- 2 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 1 tablespoon Red chili flakes
Refrigrator:
- 2 tablespoon Low Sodium Tamari
- 2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1 tablespoon Chili Garlic Paste
- 2 tablespoon Lime Juice
Instructions
Method:
- If you are using raw peanuts then first dry roast the peanuts in a skillet on stovetop on medium heat. While roasting shake and toss the peanuts few times and do not leave the stove, as they can burn very easily. Transfer to a bowl when peanuts are lightly brown and smell toasty. (Skip this step if you are using pre-roasted peanuts.) Alternatively, you can toast the peanuts in the oven or air fryer.
- After roasting peanuts using same skillet roast the sesame seeds, since the quantity is small it would be better to toast on stovetop rather in oven or air fryer. Dry roast sesame seeds over medium heat with frequent tossing for even browning. Toast seeds for 3-4 minutes or lightly golden brown. Transfer the seeds to a bowl.
- Now transfer the roasted peanuts and sesame seeds to a food processor bowl fitted with blade attachment. Pulse few times so that nuts get crushed.
- After few pulsing run the food processor for a minute, peanuts and sesame seeds will go through a few stages on their way before reaching to buttery texture.
- Stop the food processor and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add rest of the ingredients, tamari, sesame oil, seasoned rice vinegar, maple syrup, lime juice, chili garlic paste, sriracha and red chili flakes one by one to peanut and sesame seed butter and run food processor for another minute.
- Stop the food processor, scrape down the sides of bowl and lid and pulse again few times for smoother consisitency.
- Stop and check the consistency of Thai peanut sauce, add water to adjust the consistency.
- Run food processor one more time with added water.
- Peanut satay sauce is ready to enjoy!
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