Thai Peanut Sauce Recipe

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Peanut sauce is a famous and popular sauce for Southeast Asian cuisine. This Thai peanut sauce recipe is a popular condiment in Thai cuisine especially as a dipping sauce for grilled meats like chicken satay or tofu. It is slightly different from the peanut sauce for Vietnamese spring rolls. This sauce adds a delightful creaminess and depth of flavor. You will love this Thai peanut sauce! Let’s learn how to make Thai peanut sauce with step by step photos and a video.

Love Thai food? Check out these mango sticky rice, red curry, green curry, massaman curry, pad Thai noodles, pad ka prao, water spinach stir fry, spicy lemon shrimp, Thai chicken pizza, satay chicken and tom yum kung recipes.

Thai peanut sauce dripping down the spoon

What is Thai peanut sauce?

Peanut sauce is a delicious and popular condiment used in Thai cuisine. Also, Thai peanut sauce is commonly served as a dipping sauce for appetizers like spring rolls, satay skewers or fresh vegetables. Besides, it can be used as a dressing for salads, a sauce for noodles or as a marinade for grilled meats.

The sauce is delightful and the taste makes it a favorite among many Thai foods. It is a creamy, savory and slightly sweet sauce with a rich peanut flavor. Typically, the sauce includes a combination of ingredients like peanut butter, palm sugar, lime juice, chili peppers and water.

What does peanut sauce taste like?

Peanut sauce has a unique and delicious flavor. It has nuttiness, creaminess, sweetness, tangy, savory and a little spicy taste. The taste can vary slightly depending on the specific recipe.

The predominant nutty flavor comes from the peanuts or peanut butter used in the sauce. It has a rich and roasted nuttiness. Most peanut sauce recipes include a touch of sweetness from palm sugar. The sweetness helps balance the other flavors in the sauce.

Also, savory for salt adding depth and complexity to its taste. Tangy taste from lime juice provides a refreshing contrast to the richness and creaminess of the peanuts. The sauce is a little spicy from the red chili peppers and you can adjust the level of heat to your preference.

The combination of the flavors results in a well balanced sauce that goes well with a wide range of dishes, particularly those in Thai and Southeast Asian cuisines.

What can I use peanut sauce with?

Thai peanut sauce is incredibly versatile and adds a delightful burst of flavor to any meal. It goes well with a variety of dishes to add a rich and flavorful twist. The most common way people use it is as a dipping sauce for appetizers like spring rolls, summer rolls, dumplings, satay skewers (grilled meat or tofu on bamboo sticks) and veggie dipping sauce for cutting tofu, cucumber, bell peppers or carrots. Some like to use it with noodle dishes, salads and marinade meats.

Why is this Thai peanut sauce recipe good?

This Thai peanut sauce recipe is good because the combination of taste is well balanced with creamy, nutty, sweet, tangy and a little spicy kick flavor. It’s great for grilled meats, especially for chicken satay. Also, the ingredients are very simple and easy to find at regular grocery stores.

What are the ingredients for Thai peanut sauce?

In this Thai peanut sauce recipe, I used simple and common ingredients that can be found at regular grocery stores. The ingredients are peanut butter, water, honey, red chili peppers, lime juice and salt. Usually, people use palm sugar, but not many regular grocery stores can find it. Therefore, I like to use honey instead.

Cooking tips for how to make Thai peanut sauce:

Use smooth peanut butter then add water, mix it well and smooth.
After that, add the peanut butter mixture into the honey. Personally, I like to use raw honey. When you use raw honey or honey, please do not heat it up on the stove or microwave it because it will denature the enzymes, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in the honey.
If you want to heat up the sauce and serve it warm, use palm sugar or brown sugar instead of honey.
Add salt, chili pepper, lime juice and mix the sauce well.
You can increase or decrease the amount of chili peppers according to your spicy level. Or, you can skip it.
Since water is added into this sauce with honey, it will last around 2-3 days in the refrigerator. The best is to consume it as soon as possible.

FAQs:

Do you serve the sauce warm or cold?

Thai peanut sauce can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature, depending on personal preference and ingredients.

Can I make ahead?

Yes, sure you can make ahead the peanut sauce and refrigerate it. It can last 3-5 days depending on what ingredients you use.

How long can the sauce last?

Since water is added into this sauce with honey, it will last around 2-3 days in the refrigerator. The best is to consume it as soon as possible. If you use palm sugar or brown sugar it can last a little bit longer, about 7 days.

Instructions for how to make Thai peanut sauce for chicken satay:

1. Cut a lime into half and squeeze the juice. You only need 1 teaspoon of lime juice in this recipe.

2. After that, put 2 tablespoons of peanut butter in the container.

water and peanut butter in the container top view

3. Pour 2 tablespoons of water into the peanut butter.

4. Stir it very well and like creamy texture.

5. Next, put ¼ cup of honey or palm sugar into a container. (I used honey because it is easy to find at grocery stores.)

honey and peanut butter mixture top view

6. Pour the creamy peanut butter mixture from step 4 into the honey.

red chili pepper flakes peanut butter mixture and honey in the glass container

7. Add 1 teaspoon of red chili peppers flakes.

salt chili pepper peanut butter mixture honey top view

8. Then, add ¼ teaspoon of salt.

lime juice salt chili pepper honey in the container top view

9. Lastly, add 1 teaspoon of fresh lime juice from step 1 into the honey mixture and stir it very well.

Enjoy this simple yet delicious Thai peanut sauce recipe for chicken satay, dipping sauce or meals! Also, check out these sweet potato leaves stir fry, cashew shrimp, lychee slush, salted & pepper squid, claypot rice, beef chow fun, taro ice cream and crab stir fry recipes.