I love an easy, tasty dumpling recipe...and this one has to be one of my favorites! This satay sauce dumplings recipe uses store-bought gyoza and a creamy Thai-style peanut satay sauce made with red curry paste, coconut milk and crunchy peanut butter. It takes about 15 minutes, with chives, chilies and chili oil on top. SO good, I hope you love it!
This recipe is for the nights when you want dumplings for dinner but don’t have the time (or the energy) to make them from scratch. Maybe there’s a bag of gyoza in your freezer, or you picked up a pack on the way home. Either way, a quick homemade sauce is what turns them from a freezer snack into a proper dinner.
I wrote a whole cookbook about dumplings, and I’ll happily tell anyone that a bag of store-bought gyoza is a perfectly good option for dinner. The one thing I’m strict about with this recipe is timing. I drain the gyoza a minute or two before the packet says they’re done, because they carry on cooking in the sauce. Leave them in the water for the full time and they go soft and can split before they ever reach the bowl...we don't want that.
If you love dumplings and peanut together, my wood ear mushroom wontons come with a peanut chili oil sauce, and my dumpling tteokbokki bake is another easy way to turn a bag of frozen dumplings into dinner. And if you want to fold your own, I’ve got more than 50 easy dumpling recipes from around the world.
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Why this recipe works
Traditional satay sauce starts with roasted peanuts and a pounded spice paste. This is a sauce inspired by peanut satay sauce; for those lazy evenings!!
- Curry paste is the spice base. Thai red curry paste already has chili, garlic, lemongrass and galangal in it, so that's an easy win. Frying it in oil first jazzes up those aromatics up before any liquid goes in.
- Crunchy peanut butter stands in for crushed peanuts. It melts into the coconut milk but leaves little bits of peanut all through the sauce. You can totally use smooth peanut butter, but I'd highly recommend adding in some roughly chopped roasted peanuts if smooth peany b is your choice!
- The dumplings finish in the sauce. Plenty of satay dumpling recipes online bake frozen dumplings in the sauce for 20 to 25 minutes. Here they’re boiled, then spend 30 seconds in the pan, so dinner is done in about 15 minutes. Winner winner dumpling dinner!!!
Ingredients for satay sauce dumplings
Here’s what to buy:
- Thai red curry paste. Every brand is different in strength, so if yours is very spicy, use 3 teaspoons instead of 4. If it’s on the mild side, add an extra teaspoon. A top tip is that US/UK store-own brands tend to be less spicy compared to Thai own brands.
- Coconut milk. Use full-fat canned coconut milk, not the thin carton kind.
- Crunchy peanut butter. Peanut butters vary a lot in sweetness. If yours is a sweetened brand, leave out the sugar. If it’s natural (just peanuts and salt), keep the ½ teaspoon of sugar and add more if needed.
- Fish sauce. A small amount adds savory depth and seasons the whole sauce, so there’s no need for extra salt.
- Gyoza. Any store-bought gyoza or dumplings that can be boiled will work, fresh or frozen, with any filling.
- Toppings. Finely sliced chives, fresh red chilies and chili oil. I used Lao Gan Ma chili crisp here (that’s the jar in the photos), but my homemade lemongrass chili oil is lovely on these too.
For the full ingredient list with measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.
How to make satay sauce dumplings
Step 1. Fry the curry paste
Place a large skillet over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Add the red curry paste and fry for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring and breaking it up with your spoon, until it smells fragrant and starts to tint the oil red.
Step 2. Simmer the satay sauce
Pour in the coconut milk, then add the peanut butter, fish sauce and sugar. Stir until the peanut butter blends in, and bring it up to a gentle simmer. It’s ready when it’s creamy and pale orange. Taste it and adjust.
Step 3. Boil the gyoza
Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the gyoza. Cook them following the packet instructions, but set a timer for 1 minute less than it says. They’ll finish cooking in the sauce.
Step 4. Move the gyoza into the sauce
When the timer goes, transfer the gyoza out of the water with a spider strainer or slotted spoon and drop them straight into the satay sauce. A little water clinging to them is fine, it just loosens the sauce slightly!
Step 5. Coat, garnish and serve
Gently stir the gyoza through the sauce for 30 seconds so every one is coated. Divide between four bowls and top with the chives, sliced red chilies and a drizzle of chili oil. Serve straight away, while the sauce is still glossy. Enjoy, my friends!!
Substitutions and variations
Make your own dumplings
Store-bought gyoza are absolutely fine here, but if you’d like to make your own, these all suit the sauce (you know I'm an advocate for homemade dumplings!!):
- My easy potstickers have a juicy chicken and chive filling, and they use store-bought wrappers with an easy fold. Boil them instead of pan-frying.
- My pork and shrimp dumplings are boiled anyway, so they slot straight into this recipe.
- My kimchi tofu dumplings are a great meat-free option, and they can be boiled too.
With raw homemade fillings, cook them all the way through following their own recipe rather than pulling them early, then give them the 30-second toss in the sauce. Better still, make a double batch and freeze the extras raw on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then bag them for up to 3 months. That’s your own bag of freezer gyoza, ready to cook from frozen.
Make it vegetarian
Use vegetable gyoza (or the kimchi tofu dumplings above, made with vegan kimchi) and swap the fish sauce for the same amount of light soy sauce, then taste. Check the label on your curry paste too, because many Thai red curry pastes contain shrimp paste.
Tips for the best satay sauce dumplings
- Taste before the gyoza go in. Once the dumplings go in the pan you’ve only got 30 seconds, so season now. Add a splash more fish sauce if it tastes flat, or a pinch of sugar if the curry paste tastes sharp.
- Keep it at a gentle simmer. A hard, rolling boil can split the coconut milk and make the peanut butter catch on the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down as soon as you see steady bubbles.
- Give the gyoza room. Twenty gyoza crammed into a small saucepan will stick together and tear. Use your biggest pan so they can move around freely in the water.
- Get your bowls and toppings ready first. The last step takes 30 seconds, so slice the chives and chilies while the water comes to a boil.
What to serve with satay sauce dumplings
These are rich and saucy, so they’re best with something plain or fresh on the side.
- Steamed jasmine rice is the easiest partner, because it soaks up every bit of sauce left in the bowl.
- Something fresh. My Vietnamese-inspired summer salad is a herby rice noodle salad with a sharp fish sauce and lime dressing that cuts right through the creamy coconut.
- A vegetable side. My Chinese steamed eggplant is silky and light, and turns dinner into more of a spread.
For more ideas, here’s my full list of what to eat with dumplings.
Satay sauce dumplings FAQs
Pretty much, and the names get used interchangeably. Peanut sauce is the broad family, while satay sauce is the version served with grilled satay skewers in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. This one is Thai-style, with red curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce, so it’s richer and spicier than a simple peanut dip.
Yes, and it’s actually better. Cook them from frozen following the packet (still minus one minute) rather than thawing them. Thawed dumplings go soft and sticky, so the wrappers are more likely to tear or glue together in the water.
It has a gentle, warming heat, though that depends on your curry paste. Most of the kick comes from the fresh chilies and chili oil on top, so leave those off for a milder bowl, or put extra chili oil on the table for anyone who wants more.
Stir in hot water a tablespoon at a time until it’s loose enough to coat the dumplings. Peanut butter and coconut milk both thicken as they simmer and cool, so a sauce that sat on the heat while the water boiled may need a splash.
The sauce, yes. Make it up to 3 days ahead, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge, and reheat it gently with a splash of water. Cook the gyoza fresh, though. Once they sit in the sauce the wrappers soak it up and go soft, so leftovers lose their texture.
More saucy dumpling recipes
- Homemade Wontons in Chili Oil Sauce: quick wontons in a punchy chili oil sauce, made with store-bought wrappers.
- Homemade Jhol Momo: Nepalese chicken dumplings in a bold, spicy tomato sauce.
- Spam Dumplings in Chili Oil Sauce: salty, savory and a lot of fun.
- Viral Dumpling Lasagna: layers of dumpling wrappers and filling, steamed and finished with sauce and chili oil.
Satay Sauce Dumplings
Ingredients
For the satay sauce
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 teaspoon Thai red curry paste see notes
- 1 ¼ cups full-fat canned coconut milk (300 ml)
- 3 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter see notes
- 1 ½ teaspoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
For the dumplings
- 20 store-bought gyoza fresh or frozen
For the topping (optional)
- Fresh chives finely sliced
- Fresh red chilies thinly sliced
- Chili oil or chili crisp
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the red curry paste and fry, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, fish sauce and sugar. Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Cook the gyoza following the packet instructions, but drain them 1 minute before the stated time is up, because they finish cooking in the sauce.
- Transfer the gyoza straight into the satay sauce with a spider strainer or slotted spoon, and stir gently for 30 seconds to coat.
- Divide between 4 bowls and top with chives, sliced red chilies and chili oil. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Curry paste: Every red curry paste is different in strength and taste, and that changes the flavor and heat of the sauce. If yours is spicy, use 1 teaspoon less. If it’s mild, add 1 teaspoon more.
- Peanut butter: Some peanut butters are much sweeter than others. If yours is sweet, leave out the sugar. If it’s more savory, keep the ½ teaspoon sugar and add more to taste.
- Gyoza: Cook from frozen, don’t thaw. Homemade dumplings with raw fillings should be cooked all the way through before going into the sauce.
- Vegetarian: Use vegetable gyoza, swap the fish sauce for the same amount of light soy sauce, and check that your curry paste doesn’t contain shrimp paste.
- Make ahead: The sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it gently with a splash of water, then cook the gyoza fresh.
Nutrition
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