The BEST Chinese Peanut Sauce - Recipe Diaries (2024)

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Chinese peanut sauce is a delicious sauce made of peanut butter and soy sauce. You can use it as a marinade or even make a pan sauce with it for cooking chicken.

The BEST Chinese Peanut Sauce - Recipe Diaries (1)

For other Asian-inspired respires please try Asian Marinated Pork Tenderloin, Hibachi Yum Yum Sauce, Blackstone Hibachi Chicken and Vegetables, or Beef Stir Fry.

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  • Why You Will Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients Needed
  • How to make Peanut Sauce
  • Tips for Chinese Peanut Sauce
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Other recipes you might like
  • Chinese Peanut Sauce

Why You Will Love This Recipe

This recipe only uses 4 ingredients and it can be used in many different dishes. See some options below!

Peanut Sauce with chicken only takes less than 20 minutes to make!

I usually cook up some rice or noodles to serve with the peanut chicken.

Ingredients Needed

The BEST Chinese Peanut Sauce - Recipe Diaries (2)

Peanut butter - Use good peanut butter that is just ground-up peanuts and no other ingredients added to it. Costco’s Kirland’s brand is really good for this.Can always sub PB2 to make it lower points.

For the peanut butter, I prefer brands like Jiff or Skippy and it can be crunchy or creamy. If you have a peanut allergy, almond butter is ok to use as well. You might need to adjust the amount of water you add into the sauce first to ¼ cup.Use real peanut butter too, please. It tastes better than PB2 for this dish.

Water - already in your house!

Soy sauce - Use a Low Sodium or if you don’t have that on hand go for Tamari or Coconut Amino Acids. To make this sauce gluten-free sub Coconut Aminos or tamari instead of soy sauce.

Sugar - Regular granulated sugar, I do not use sugar substitutes in any of my recipes but if you know the conversions feel free to do so

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

How to make Peanut Sauce

Step 1: Whisk the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, and sugar, in a small bowl or measuring cup until well combined. Set aside.

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Step 2: In a nonstick skillet over medium heat add the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and cook until heated through or soft; 3 to 5 minutes. Season with crushed red pepper flakes (optional).

The BEST Chinese Peanut Sauce - Recipe Diaries (4)

Step 3: Add diced chicken to the pan and cook until the chicken is heated through. 3 to 5 minutes. The chicken is done when it is no longer pink in the middle. I usually take one chicken piece out and cut it to see if it is cooked.

Step 4: Add the peanut sauce to the pan and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes until everything is heated through.

Recipe Tip: If the sauce is too thick add small amounts of water until you like the consistency.

Serve with cooked noodles.

Tips for Chinese Peanut Sauce

What can you do with peanut sauce?

This peanut sauce is a classic dipping sauce for grilled chicken skewers.

Use peanut sauce for Asian Stir Fries or for dipping.

Air fry up some chicken wings and when they're done toss them in a bowl so that they're completely covered in this peanut sauce.

You can use it for dipping those yummy spring rolls, chicken satay, stir-fry, lettuce wraps, or make thai peanut noodle salad. I made a delicious peanut chicken stir fry with noodles for this recipe.

Make these salads like Thai Quinoa Salad with Fresh Herbs, Spicy Thai Noodles, or Chopped Thai Chicken Salad.

Peanut sauce is also great for dipping with Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets.

To make the sauce smooth and creamy use a food processor, instead of whisking the sauce in a bowl.

The BEST Chinese Peanut Sauce - Recipe Diaries (6)

Recipe FAQs

What is Chinese peanut sauce made of?

This peanut sauce recipe consists of peanut butter, soy sauce, water, and sugar. That's it! No other ingredients are needed.

How long does peanut sauce last?

Peanut sauce will last in air tight container for 3 to 5 days or until it's all used up. Just make sure the lid is sealed tight so no air gets in.

Other recipes you might like

  • Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars
  • Weight Watchers Meatloaf Muffins
  • Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Taco Soup (Low Sodium)
  • Banana Bread Weight Watchers (Low Point)

If you tried this Chinese Peanut Sauce or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries

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The BEST Chinese Peanut Sauce - Recipe Diaries (11)

Chinese Peanut Sauce

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star

5 from 7 reviews

  • Author: Jenna
  • Total Time: 20 min
  • Yield: 4 to 6 1x
Print Recipe

Description

Chinese peanut sauce is a delicious sauce made of peanut butter and soy sauce. You can use it as a marinade or even make a pan sauce with it for cooking chicken.

Ingredients

Scale

Peanut Sauce:

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

Chinese Peanut Sauce Stir Fry

2 large chicken breasts, diced into cubes

2 teaspoon of olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup onion, diced

pinch of red pepper flakes

Cooked Spaghetti Noodles for serving

2 scallions, diced (0ptional)

Instructions

Peanut Sauce: Whisk the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, and sugar, in a small bowl until well combined. Set aside.

Peanut Sauce Stir Fry: In a nonstick skillet over medium heat add the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and cook until heated through or soft; 2 to 3 minutes. Season with crushed red pepper flakes.

Add diced chicken to the pan and cook until the chicken is heated through. 4 to 6 minutes. The chicken is done when it is no longer pink in the middle. I usually take one chicken piece out and cut it to see if it is cooked.

Add the peanut sauce to the pan and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes until everything is heated through.

If the sauce is too thick add small amounts of water until you like the consistency.

Serve with cooked noodles.

Serving Size: ¾ cup of chicken with sauce

Notes

My WW Personal Points: 5 Click here to see in recipe builder (will have to log in)

If the sauce is too thick add small amounts of water until you like the consistency.

  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 10 min
  • Category: Easy
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Asian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: ¾ cup
  • Calories: 212
  • Sugar: 9g
  • Sodium: 590mg
  • Fat: 13g
  • Saturated Fat: 2g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 2g
  • Carbohydrates: 16g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 10g
The BEST Chinese Peanut Sauce - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

What is Chinese peanut sauce made of? ›

This sauce is made using peanut butter, sauces like hot sauce, vinegar and soy sauce (tamari for gluten-free), garlic and seasoning. It can be seasoned as you like.

What is the difference between satay sauce and peanut sauce? ›

Although commonly associated with Thai cuisine, peanut sauce actually originated in Indonesia (source). What Americans know as peanut sauce is more commonly referred to as satay sauce (or bumbu kacang) in Indonesia, because it's most often served with the popular Indonesian dish, satay (skewered, grilled meats).

What is the mother sauce of Chinese? ›

Undoubtedly the most used sauce for Chinese cooking is Soy Sauce. The indisputable king of sauce for Chinese cooking. You can almost say that Chinese is not Chinese without soy sauce.

What culture is peanut sauce from? ›

Also just called peanut sauce or satay sauce, this dipping sauce is a flavorful part of Southeast Asian cuisine, especially Indonesian cuisine, where it's called bumbu kacang or sambal kacang.

How healthy is peanut sauce? ›

Peanut sauce is so heavy on the calories and fat because of what it traditionally contains. The base is full-fat coconut milk, with full-fat peanut butter and ground peanuts added. The sauce may also contain brown sugar or honey, soy sauce and oil, which can raise its sugar and sodium contents.

Why is peanut sauce so good? ›

Peanut sauce reached its sophistication in Indonesia, with the delicate balance of taste acquired from various ingredients according to each recipe of peanut sauce; fried peanuts, gula jawa (palm sugar), garlic, shallot, ginger, tamarind juice, lemon juice, lemongrass, salt, chilli, pepper, sweet soy sauce, ground ...

Is satay sauce Indian or Chinese? ›

Satay sauce, also known as Peanut Sauce, Bumbu Kacang or Sambal Kacang is an Indonesian sauce made from ground roasted or fried peanuts, widely used in cuisines worldwide.

Is tahini same as peanut sauce? ›

Tahini resembles natural peanut butter in appearance, but it's not inherently sweet like nut butters. It has the earthy, nutty flavor of sesame seeds but with a tinge of bitterness (although if it tastes unpleasant or astringent, it's past its prime).

What is the most used sauce in Chinese food? ›

Soy sauce (jiàng yóu, 酱油), the most common of Chinese sauces, sounds simple, and for the most part, it is.

What thickens Chinese sauce? ›

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

What oil do Chinese restaurants use? ›

Chinese cooks normally use soybean oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil, all of which have a high smoke point. Peanut oil usually has a pleasant nutty flavor and is suitable not only for stir-frying but also for deep-frying. Canola oil, which has a high smoke point but a neutral flavor, is also a good choice.

Which vinegar is used in Chinese food? ›

Grain-based black vinegar (醋, cù) is a fixture of Chinese pantries that adds a rich, slightly sweet, tangy flavor to raw salads and cooked dishes. The same Maillard reaction that turns your onions into sweet, concentrated slivers of caramelized flavor is responsible for black vinegar's deep umami.

Which oil is best for Chinese cooking? ›

cooking methods are common in Asian cuisines, peanut oil is a popular choice. color, neutral flavor, and is generally used for cooking. Toasted sesame seed oil has a darker color, a stronger aroma, and a distinctively nutty flavor.

What does peanut sauce taste like? ›

It's salty, sweet, acidic and bold — a sauce like no other. For the uninitiated, Asian peanut sauce is a puree of peanuts, soy sauce, ginger, sesame, spices and often garlic, lemongrass and lime.

What is peanut butter sauce made of? ›

In a medium bowl, stir together the peanut butter, lime juice, rice vinegar, sriracha, tamari, sesame oil, maple syrup, ginger, and 4 tablespoons of the water. If the sauce is too thick, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.

What is Vietnamese peanut sauce made of? ›

One of the unique aspects of Vietnamese-style peanut sauce compared to other varieties of peanut sauce is the inclusion of hoisin sauce. Vietnamese peanut sauce is simply made with peanut butter, hoisin and garlic for a sweet, tangy and rich sauce.

What are the ingredients in peanut bar china specialty? ›

Ingredients: Peanuts,glucose and sugar.

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