I find that sauce doesn't cook well on the stovetop. Because it has sugar in it, it becomes sticky in the pan and also sort of disappears on the meat. So when I do something like this, I cut the chicken in strips and saute it, in sesame oil if you have it (or olive if you don't), and then toss the strips in a bowl with the sauce to coat them. AFter that, put the strips on the salad.

If you were making true satay style, you would thread the chicken on skewers and coat with the sauce, and then either grill or broil them near a flame so the sauce would caramelize a bit. You could do the same for your salad, I suppose, and then cut the chicken into strips after broiling -- but it's an added step, and I find the saute method works fine.

here's what I might do (totally agree with Miko that sauteeing with peanut sauce would likely result in a sticky mess on the pan).

- saute the chicken breasts with some ginger/onion/coriander and fresh basil if you have some to get the Thai theme going.
- deglaze with a tablespoon or so of coconut milk if you have some, chicken stock or sherry if not. Scrape all those tasty crusty bits off the pan!
cooking pedantry time: I use ghee or peanut oil to saute Asian foods both because they have relatively high smoke points but also because they don't impart off flavors to Asian foods (bitter/astringent or "Italian food" characteristics) like olive oil tends to. Most sesame oil available in retail outlets, IME, is cold-pressed to retain its characteristic "sesame" flavor, and thus something I would only use as finishing oil as it's got a rather low smoke point, as do most "unrefined" olive oils (i.e. extra-virgin, virgin). The thermal oxidation components of unrefined ("cold-pressed") vegetable oils have some clinical data showing they're not beneficial, and the SAD is pretty weighted towards Ω-6 anyhow (consuming a lot of chicken and olive oil means consuming a lot of Ω-6) that it tends to muck up our Ω-3:Ω-6 ratios. I'll add OO to things like marinara sauces that I simmer at lower heat, and of course to salad dressings, but I don't use it to saute/fry in. This assumes you're actually sauteeing / stir-frying your chicken at the proper (high) temp to invoke the Maillard reaction (fond=flavor), and not just sweating or poaching it instead but that's a whole nother realm of cooking pedantry right there.
- gently warm up the peanut sauce in the microwave or over low heat in a saucepan.
- dump onions/chicken into a bowl, pour warm peanut sauce over and let it sit and stew for 5 minutes or so.
- garnish/finish with a little fresh lime juice if available.

lfr's comment made me hungry. Mmm, Maillard reaction. I also tend to use dark sesame oil as a finishing oil rather than a cooking oil, but light sesame oil (which isn't as fragrant) is supposed to be a nice cooking oil.

You could also slice or chunk the chicken, skewer it or lay it in a shallow baking sheet, bake or broil it, then drizzle it with the peanut sauce and broil it again. That provides the flavorful browning of the sauce that Miko's talking about, while still allowing you to easily tumble the chunks or slices onto the salad (without having to mess around cutting up saucy chicken breast). But as Miko points out, it's a finicky extra step and the simpler approach would be delicious!

oh I forgot to add: I would totally slice the chicken into strips prior to sauteeing it regardless; it both helps it to cook faster AND provides more surface area to promote fond. mmm, tasty, tasty fond.

but then I like doing things like putting saucy sauteed proteins onto salads as it means I don't also have to worry about thinking up a dressing.

Thank you all! Do you think that the peanut sauce on the chicken will make a good dressing for the salad?

Thank you all! Do you think that the peanut sauce on the chicken will make a good dressing for the salad?

Absolutely! As lfr says:

but then I like doing things like putting saucy sauteed proteins onto salads as it means I don't also have to worry about thinking up a dressing.

Ooooh yessssss. Oftentimes I'll soft-cook an egg and let the runny yolk act as "dressing" for, say, a spinach salad with roasted vegetables. (Looking at yolk-streaked salad makes my husband Not Feel Good, so I usually have that for dinner when he's not home.) Or saucy tofu chunks. Or smashed-up avocado with lemon and salt. Oh, now I'm really hungry.

One more question: I've inspected the pantry and I have wok oil (but no wok) - would this be a good oil in which to saute the chicken? It's that or olive oil or veg oil (no sesame oil).

I'm not sure what "wok oil" is - is it supposed to be for seasoning your wok, or cooking in your wok, or everything?

If for cooking, I'm sure it's fine...if not maybe I'd use veg oil because it might be a hint more neutral (and a better support for the flavor) than olive oil. Also I think it has a higher smoke point than olive.

lfr's approach sounds yummy!

This is the wok oil that I have - flavored cottonseed oil, it appears. I suspect it is nothing that any of you would use! But I used it to saute the chicken pieces and sliced shallots, and then I tossed them in the sauce when they were off the heat. It was good!

Looks good to me, amro! Basically, that peanut sauce is great for a bunch of uses: to spread on almost-finished meat and broil, to heat and serve as a dip with skewers of cooked chicken or fish or shrimp, to toss with cooked noodles and vegetables for peanut noodle salad. Your dinner sounds delicious!

I suspect it is nothing that any of you would use!

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, do you think I'm fancy? Like, too fancy for perfectly good cooking oil? Aren't you the sweetest? I am not fancy.

I don't think anyone was saying "Use this oil, not that oil"; rather, it was "since sesame oil was mentioned, let's clarify between dark sesame oil, which has a low smoke point and the flavor of which can cook off rapidly, and plain sesame oil, which is more suitable for cooking but honestly I've never used it except as fancy body oil*."

*Oh, was that just me? OOPS.

I love fancy cold-pressed unrefined oils for finishing, and I understand the appeal of fine oils for general cooking, but because this is Real Life With A Budget, I use whatever store-brand vegetable oil is cheapest for stir-fries. I imagine the wok oil you have is even better for that!