Wheeler’s Thai grilled chicken
This Thai grilled chicken, or Gai Yang, with a side of roasted chiles and rice, makes a great weekday staple.
Prep Time45 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: grilled chicken, Thai
Author: Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Main
- 1-4 lbs chicken breasts, thighs or drumsticks
- 2+ green chiles
- 1 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
Marinade
- 3 tbsp chopped garlic
- 2 jalapeños, chopped
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2+ tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp white or red wine (optional)
- 1 tsp sesame seed oil (optional)
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 15 sprigs cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 lemon, deseeded, coarsely chopped
Sauce
- 2 dried red chiles, soaked, then coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
Marinade and sauce
At least three hours prior to grilling the chicken, prepare and marinade the chicken.
In a blender or food processor, combine the marinade ingredients. Blend for 2-3 minutes, until everything is well combined. Everything should already be chopped.
Combine the chicken and the marinade in a container, bowl or ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least three hours. Overnight is preferable.
While the chicken is marinating, combine all of the sauce ingredients in the food processor or blender and mix until well combined. Remove to a separate container for serving and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Grill
Grill the chicken over medium to medium-high heat until done. Chicken thighs taken longer than breasts and bone in takes longer than boneless. If the chicken is bone-in, cook over medium heat. Add a little of the marinade to the chicken while it cooks.
While the chicken is grilling add the green chiles, cut lengthwise, to the grill and cook until the skin is well blistered.
Once the chicken is done, remove from the grill and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes.
Serve with rice and the sauce you previously made in the blender/food processor and the roasted chiles.
Garnish the plates with the chopped cilantro.