Cilantro Thai Grilled Chicken Food

CILANTRO THAI GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients above in a food processor and process until smooth.
• Pour marinade over chicken breast and let flavors sink in for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
• Prepare your grill or broiler.
• Cook until temperature registers 165F on the meat thermometer.
• Let the chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes before serving, this prevents the meat from drying up.

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN (GAI YANG)

Steps:

• Add the lemongrass, cilantro (coriander), shallots, and garlic to a mortar and pestle, and pound until pulverized. You can also use a food processor for this step.
• Add the oil, sugar, salt, black pepper, Thai soy sauces, fish sauce and turmeric (if using). Mix until well-combined.
• You can butterfly or spatchcock your chicken for grilling like it's done on the streets of Thailand. However, I cut the chicken into individual pieces to ensure they'd cook properly. This way, I can pull each piece off the grill once cooked. Rub the chicken with the marinade paste, ensuring every piece is thoroughly coated. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight (or at least 12 hours).
• The next day, take the chicken out 1 to 2 hours before you're ready to grill.
• In a small bowl, mix the sugar and hot water until the sugar is dissolved. Mix in the rest of the sauce ingredients and set aside.
• Place the chicken on the grill, and use any remaining marinade to baste the chicken while grilling. Leave the marinade paste on the chicken, including any chunks of herbs as they will caramelize and add flavor. Turn and baste the chicken often to create a nice flavorful outer crust. Baste the chicken with the leftover marinade in the first half of the grilling process, but do not do this towards the end of cooking. The raw chicken marinade needs enough time to fully cook.
• Serve immediately with some coconut rice, your nam jim jeaw sauce, and lime wedges!

THAI-STYLE GRILLED CHICKEN (GAI YANG)

Steps:

• Marinate chicken:Combine lemongrass, cilantro, garlic, and shallot. Finely chop them with a knife or, better yet, combine them in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped (roughly the size of sesame seeds). Stir in light soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, fish sauce, and cooking oil. Add chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Remove chicken from marinade (reserve marinade if cooking in the oven) and lightly season the chicken with some salt and black pepper.
• To grill chicken: Heat a grill, leaving one half over direct heat and one half over indirect heat. Brush the grates with some oil. Place chicken pieces over direct heat, cooking both sides until golden brown and lightly charred. Move the chicken to indirect heat, skin-side up, and close the lid. Continue grilling until an instant read thermometer reads 165° F (large, bone-in chicken breast, legs, and thighs can take 30-40 minutes; wings take 15 to 20). Remove each piece when ready.
• To oven roast chicken:Heat oven to 400° F. Line a sheet pan with foil (the drippings will burn, so this will make clean-up easy) and top it with an oven-safe cooling rack (the cooling rack is optional but will allow air and heat to circulate under the chicken, helping it to cook more evenly). Add chicken, skin-side up. Spoon marinade over of chicken. Roast until an instant read thermometer reads 165° F (large, bone-in chicken breast, legs, and thighs can take 30-40 minutes; wings take 15 to 20). Remove each piece when ready.
• Let chicken rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
• Serve on its own or like we do with spicy dipping sauce (Sweet Chili Sauce is a crowd favorite) and sticky rice.

THAI-STYLE GRILLED CHICKEN (GAI YANG) RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine garlic, cilantro, sugar, white pepper, coriander, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, and lemongrass (if using) in the bowl of a food processor. Process until a rough paste is formed. Set aside.
• Place chicken halves flat on a cutting board. Insert 2 metal skewers into each chicken half, running parallel through legs and breasts. Transfer chicken to a baking dish that just fits them. Rub on all surfaces with marinade. Cover, transfer to refrigerator, and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• When ready to cook, light 1 chimney full of charcoal . When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals evenly over half of coal grate. Alternatively, set half the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.
• Place chicken, skin side up, on cooler side of grill, with legs facing toward hotter side. Cover grill, with vents on lid open and aligned over chicken. Open bottom vents of grill. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 140°F (60°C), about 45 minutes. Carefully flip chicken and place, skin side down, on hotter side of grill, with breasts pointed toward cooler side. Cover and cook until skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 145 to 150°F (63 to 66°C), about 3 minutes longer. (Be careful, as the skin is very prone to burning.) If chicken threatens to burn before temperature is achieved, carefully slide to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until done. Do not leave lid off for longer than it takes to check temperature, or chicken will burn.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Carve and serve with chile dipping sauce.

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH CORIANDER/CILANTRO SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix the marinade ingredients together, pour over chicken and leave it in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• While chicken is in the fridge, prepare the sauce.
• Heat vinegar, sugar in a saucepan over low heat, and stir until dissolved.
• Bring to boil and simmer until the sauce thickens, and a syrup forms.
• (this will only take a minute or two) Pour into a bowl.
• Preheat grill.
• Place chicken about 20cm/8 inches from the heat, and cook both sides until coloured.
• (about 6 minutes on the first side, 4 minutes on the second) Serve with Coriander/Cilantro Sauce and Fragrant Rice.

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a blender, combine cilantro, chili sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic and sugar. Spread on chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. (In the refrigerator, of course!).
• Pre-heat broiler or barbeque. Broil or grill chicken, skin side down, for 4 minutes. Turn and broil/grill 4 minutes longer until skin is crispy and chicken is cooked through.
• Cut chicken on the bias into 1/2 inch strips.
• Place lettuce leaves on a platter and arrange chicken on top. Garnish with cilantro, mint sprigs and green onions.
• To eat in the traditional Thai manner, roll chicken in lettuce leaves along with herbs and onions. Dip into Thai Dipping Sauce (recipe # 188736).