Satay-Style Thai Chicken Meatballs Recipe
If you enjoy the unique balance of savory, sweet, aromatic, and spicy flavors that Thai food offers, then you may want to direct your attention to these satay-style Thai chicken meatballs. From the kitchen of recipe developer Jennine Rye, these meatballs are tender, moist, and richly flavored to give you a playful take on chicken satay.
Ready in just over 30 minutes, these meatballs are easily assembled by hand using a combination of aromatic ingredients such as turmeric, coconut, ginger, lemongrass, and cilantro. The inclusion of fresh bread, egg, and shredded coconut ensures that the ground chicken stays wonderfully succulent as the meatballs are broiled to perfection, offering a little smokiness and char action. The chicken meatballs are served alongside a quick-to-assemble peanut dipping sauce, adding a rich, creamy counter that perfectly complements the other flavors in the dish. This recipe is also versatile, yielding a dish that is simple enough to enjoy for a midweek dinner or as a starter, or perhaps the perfect party-friendly finger food. Read on to find out how you can make these satay-style Thai chicken meatballs from the comfort of your own home.
Gather the ingredients for the satay-style Thai chicken meatballs
To begin this satay-style Thai chicken meatballs recipe, first you will need to gather the ingredients. For the peanut dipping sauce you will want peanut butter (smooth works best here), coconut milk, juice from a fresh lime, soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, and chile flakes. For the Thai chicken meatballs themselves, you will need ground chicken, fresh breadcrumbs, unsweetened shredded coconut, an egg, salt, and pepper. To add heaps of flavor to the meatballs you will also want some more fish sauce, chile flakes, and honey, as well as fresh ginger, scallions, lemongrass, cilantro, and ground turmeric.
Step 1: Blend the peanut sauce
To make the dipping sauce, add the peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, and chile flakes to a blender. Blend well for 15 to 20 seconds until combined.
Step 2: Set the sauce aside
Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside.
Step 3: Combine the meatball ingredients
Meanwhile, prepare the meatballs. Add the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, shredded coconut, egg, ginger, scallions, lemongrass, cilantro, honey, fish sauce, turmeric, chile flakes, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Mix well until everything is thoroughly combined.
Step 4: Roll the meatballs
Using heaped tablespoons, form the ground chicken mixture into meatballs by hand. (Wetting your hands a little will help stop the mixture from sticking to you.)
Step 5: Chill the meatballs
Cover and chill the meatballs for 15 minutes.
Step 6: Line a baking sheet
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 7: Preheat the broiler
Preheat the broiler to high.
Step 8: Thread the meatballs onto skewers
Thread the meatballs onto skewers, placing full skewers on the prepared baking tray.
Step 9: Broil the meatballs
Transfer the meatballs to the oven and broil for 5 to 7 minutes.
Step 10: Turn the meatballs
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the meatballs. Return to the broiler and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and evenly browned.
Step 11: Serve
Serve the meatballs right away with the peanut dipping sauce.
What to serve with Thai chicken meatballs
Satay-Style Thai Chicken Meatballs Recipe
These chicken meatballs, inspired by Thai-style satay, make a great appetizer, main course, or party-friendly bite. Pair them with our creamy peanut sauce.
Ingredients
- For the peanut dipping sauce
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup coconut milk
- Juice of ½ lime
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- Pinch of chile flakes
- For the Thai chicken meatballs
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ¾ cup fresh breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 3 finely chopped scallions
- 1 teaspoon chopped lemongrass (white parts only)
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon chile flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Directions
- To make the dipping sauce, add the peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, and chile flakes to a blender. Blend well for 15 to 20 seconds until combined.
- Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside.
- Meanwhile, prepare the meatballs. Add the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, shredded coconut, egg, ginger, scallions, lemongrass, cilantro, honey, fish sauce, turmeric, chile flakes, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Mix well until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Using heaped tablespoons, form the ground chicken mixture into meatballs by hand. (Wetting your hands a little will help stop the mixture from sticking to you.)
- Cover and chill the meatballs for 15 minutes.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Preheat the broiler to high.
- Thread the meatballs onto skewers, placing full skewers on the prepared baking tray.
- Transfer the meatballs to the oven and broil for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the meatballs. Return to the broiler and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and evenly browned.
- Serve the meatballs right away with the peanut dipping sauce.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 111 |
| Total Fat | 7.3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2.5 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 24.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 6.5 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.9 g |
| Total Sugars | 2.7 g |
| Sodium | 156.7 mg |
| Protein | 6.1 g |
How can this Thai chicken meatball recipe be modified?
This Thai chicken meatball dish can be adapted a variety of ways according to your personal preferences as well as your kitchen set up. While this recipe utilizes ground chicken to form the meatballs, you can easily switch up your choice of protein to give the meatballs a different flavor and texture. If you prefer to stick to leaner, lighter meats, then ground turkey is a great option. Alternatively, if you would like your meatballs to be a little heartier, then we recommend using ground pork. If you would like to add different flavor elements (that are still thematic) to your meatballs, try mixing in a spoonful or two of Thai curry paste (red or green would both work well here). Adding some finely chopped fresh chiles would ramp up the heat for more daring palates.
Switching up the method you use for cooking these meatballs is a great, simple way to mix things up. Broiling the meatballs adds a fabulous char and gives grill vibes without the need for a grill, but you can also bake these meatballs for an easy option that will result in tender and moist meat. The meatballs can also be individually pan fried instead of being skewered, resulting in an extra brown and crispy exterior. These can then be drizzled with the peanut sauce, or even served up over rice in a thinned out version of the peanut dipping sauce.
Can I pair these Thai chicken meatballs with other sauces?
While the peanut dipping sauce in this recipe makes a wonderful accompaniment to the tender Thai chicken meatballs, adding a complementary yet contrasting nutty creamy element to the final dish, there are still plenty of other options available to you in the sauce department to create a fulfilling dining experience.
If you want to keep things simple, then sweet chili sauce is always a popular option. If you crave a bit of spice, then sriracha may be the choice for you. From nearby Vietnam, nước chấm is another great dipping sauce that you can try with your satay-style chicken meatballs. This sauce is a wonderful balance of sweet, savory, spicy, and salty flavors, and usually made with a mixture of ingredients that you'll already find in this recipe, including fish sauce and lime.