Whether you eat spoonfuls of peanut butter straight from the jar or not, this spicy peanut butter chicken recipe is for you! This sweet and salty sauce hits all the flavour hotspots while brimming with nutritious chicken, wholesome peanuts and bright green beans. It’s a firm family favourite of ours that’s ready in twenty.
Got a bad peanut butter habit? Well, there are worse ones to have! But my natural maple peanut butter recipe might just tip you over the edge as its 3 ingredients make it too easy. Leave out the maple syrup if that sounds too sweet.
Asian chicken recipe
Having spent time living in Asia, there is a special place in my heart, cooking and blog for recipes from that continent. I find the cuisine can be both comforting and exciting to prepare and eat. But I know many people avoid cooking Asian food imagining lots of exotic ingredients and sharp knives needed! Not so!
So, each of these Asian chicken recipes has been written with Western kitchens and pantries, and busy, all-level cooks in mind. If you want to get into it, I recommend starting with one of these:
– Filipino Chicken Adobo; strong and deeply flavoured, cooked low and slow or in the slow cooker.
– Asian Air Fryer Chicken Wings; sticky and crispy-skinned wings for a starter or side dish.
– Chinese Chicken Curry; hearty and saucy, serve over rice.
– Chicken Yaki Udon; chicken, noodles and vegetables in one!
– Thai Grilled Chicken Salad; and we’re back with the peanuts.
Peanut butter sauce
I’m not the kind of girl that will sit down to a peanut butter sandwich, but I cannot resist a peanut butter-based sauce. Especially on chicken. Especially on Asian chicken. Especially on spicy Asian chicken.
While peanuts and chicken don’t spring instantly to the minds of Western cooks, the combo is huge in Asia. Think chicken satay skewers. But it’s not just the sweet and earthy peanuts that make this, and other Asian dishes so appealing, it’s a careful contrast and compliment of salty soy, tangy rice wine, spicy chilli and a touch of sugar.
Smooth and naturally creamy peanut butter makes for a cheeky little sauce hack here, and in other recipes. It’s a reliable store cupboard staple and stirs in seamlessly. I always use a natural, unprocessed one that is 100% peanuts. No sugar. I’ve used smooth in this recipe, but you could use crunchy if you like a little more bite.
Recipe tips and notes
- This recipe is a breeze but rapid! Make sure you are well organised before you get started cooking: chop and grate all the veg, mix the sauce ingredients.
- Although I’m a big thigh fan, I’ve used chicken breasts for this one. I find them easier to cube evenly, but if you’re 100% thigh, just go for boneless.
- Peanut butter lovers will know how rich and heavy it is, but this sauce is perfectly balanced. 3 tablespoons for 4 diners is the sweet spot.
- Sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce and dried chilli flakes even out the peanutty thickness to a sauce that is fluid and mouth-wateringly moreish.
- Invest in a bottle of Shaohsing cooking wine if you frequently cook Chinese food. It is both salty and sweet and brings an unparalleled complexity to home-cooked Chinese dishes.
- Rice vinegar is a good enough substitute though if that is what’s available to you.
- Feel free to play with the chilli factor here. Half a teaspoon will give the sauce a welcome lift, a full teaspoon will bring it skyward. And if you’re aiming for the stars, serve the finished dish with a dipping bowl of chilli oil on the side.
- Cook the sauce over a medium low heat, it will be smooth and liquid. Any higher and it will likely split. Still edible, just not a good look.
- Finally, if the sauce is looking too thick, just add a splash of water.
Serving suggestions
The beauty of this peanut butter chicken recipe is it takes almost no time at all to put together. To keep it low maintenance, serve with plain boiled fluffy white rice and Korean carrot salad.
Or for variety and a bit more weight to the meal, prawn noodle stir fry brings all the vegetables and noodles to boot! You can easily leave out the prawns to make it meat-free, and if you’ve a vegetarian diner, make sure to swap out regularoyster sauce for vegetarian oyster sauce.
Storage and leftovers
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight containerfor to 2-3 days. Reheat gently on the hob with a little water to loosen.
Or freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before heating on the hob.
More Asian chicken recipes
Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lbs chicken breast cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil divided
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 100 g green beans
- 2-3 green onions sliced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds optional
For the sauce
- 3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp Chinese Shaohsing cooking wine or 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ – 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 125ml / ½ cup hot water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl mix the soy sauce with corn starch, then add chicken pieces and set aside until needed.
- Prepare the vegetables by chopping up the onion, peeling and grating ginger, trimming the green beans and mincing the garlic.
- In another medium bowl mix together the peanut butter, brown sugar, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, dried chilli flakes and hot water and whisk together till smooth. Set aside till needed.
- To a large frying pan or a wok add ½ cup of water and bring to a boil, then add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes until tender and bright green. Remove from the wok to a separate place, discard the water and wipe the wok dry.
- Put it back on the stove and heat with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and cook until browned on both sides for approximately 5 minutes. Remove to the same plate as the beans.
- Now add another tablespoon of vegetable oil and bring in the chopped onions to the pan, cook for 5 minutes, then add the grated ginger and minced garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds longer.
- Now pour the pre-mixed peanut sauce into the hot pan and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and green beans and simmer over 5 medium heat for 5 minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of water.
- Serve sprinkled with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.