Chicken Satay Bowls with Homemade Peanut Sauce

CHICKEN SATAY WITH A HOMEMADE PEANUT SAUCE!!! This dish always reminds me of my brother, Henry, who could survive on Chicken Satay alone. I usually like my brother so when I am making this it reminds me of the little twerp who would slurp up all the peanut sauce at the table. This recipe can be eaten on its own or layered with rice and slaw to make a complete, and really filling meal! This recipe is so quick and easy to pull together for a weeknight dinner, family-friendly, keto, paleo, dairy-free and it uses all Trader Joe's ingredients that I almost always have laying around the house!

But, I suck at cooking

Cooking is a practice. That's what I love so much about it. No matter how much you know about cooking there's always going to be a new skill to learn. If you're a beginner cook, give yourself some grace. I always use this analogy with my students who are frustrated with not understanding a certain technique or not instantly being great at something. Do you remember when you first started driving a car? You were hyper-focused, had to think about everything, couldn't remember which way to push the turn signal to indicate you were turning right or left, and were in a state of panic. But now, after driving for a little bit, it comes second nature and you don't even have to think about anything. Half the time when I'm driving to work I question whether I even stopped at that stop sign back there (I ALWAYS DO THOUGH) because I go into complete autopilot.

Cooking is exactly like driving, the more you do it, the easier it becomes, the less you have to think about it. You develop a good rhythm and you start enjoying just cruising and exploring new places (or flavors, proteins... whatever). I almost lit my first apartment on fire trying to make caramelized onions over high heat when I first started cooking. It's okay if you hit a few curbs in the beginning, that's all part of the process (I make bomb caramelized onions now).

Chicken Satay and Peanut Sauce Ingredient Breakdown

Chicken Tenderloin Strips
Trader Joe's Yellow Curry Sauce
Peanut Butter
Maple Syrup
Sriracha
Coconut Aminos
Sesame Oil
Lime

Tips for Success

You can have fun with this recipe and really make it your own, it doesn't need to be made into a full meal- enjoy it as an appetizer!
I used a 50/50 combo of regular rice and cauliflower rice- Trader Joe's frozen, microwaveable rice is always my favorite. But feel free to sub out rice for noodles, or a salad!
The longer you let the peanut sauce and the marinade sit, the more flavorful it will be! This is one of those recipes I prep before I leave for work so that I can throw it on the stove when I get home and it's ready in less than 15 minutes!