Thai Grilled Chicken Salad Food

THAI CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
• Boil water in a saucepan. Add chicken, put the lid on, let the water come back up to a simmer, then remove from stove. Set aside for 20 minutes (even up to 45 min is fine). (Note 4)
• Remove chicken from water and shred, then cool.
• Place ingredients in a jar. Shake well. Taste and adjust as required. It should be a balance of tangy / sweet / salty / hint of spice. (Note 5)
• Place Salad ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle over most of the Dressing, toss. Serve immediately, drizzled with remaining Dressing.

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN (GAI YANG)

Steps:

• Place Marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Massage to mix.
• Add the chicken into the ziplock bag and massage to spread the marinade over all the chicken. Marinate for a minimum of 3 hours, preferably overnight (up to 24 hours).
• Remove chicken from the Marinade and discard the Marinade (unless baking in the oven - refer Note 3).
• Heat the outdoor grill on medium high. Or heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan over medium high heat on the stove.
• Cook the chicken until golden brown - around 3 minutes each side.
• Rest for a few minutes before serving with lime wedges on the side, and garnished with fresh chilies and cilantro, if using.

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients for the chicken marinade in a mixing bowl or a plastic air tight bag. Marinate chicken at least 1 hour to overnight.
• Add all ingredients for the dressing in a measuring cup or a glass jar. Whisk until it's well combined. Taste the dressing if it's perfect to your taste. Add more fish sauce for saltiness, sweetness for palm sugar and sourness for lime juice to your taste. Add freshly chopped Thai chili, if you want super spicy! Set aside. You can keep this dressing in a refrigerator for 7 days.
• Grill the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes each side or until nicely charred outside and juicy yet fully cooked inside. Let it rest for 3 to 5 minutes then cut into bite sizes.
• Now, if you are serving the whole thing at once, in a large mixing bowl, add all the vegetables for the salad, grilled chicken, chili flakes and roasted rice powder. Drizzle the dressing and the juice from the plate where grilled chicken was resting. It's all flavor!! Toss away until well combined.
• Garnish with some more roasted rice powder. Serve with any side dishes you'd like to enjoy. I love just digging in to the salad with ice cold beer, but sticky rice or warm cooked jasmine rice will go amazingly with the salad too!
• You can also keep the ingredients - the grilled chicken, the dressing and the veggies -separately and enjoy anytime you're ready!

GINGER-LIME GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to medium high and prepare for indirect grilling: On a charcoal grill, bank the coals to one side. On a gas grill, turn off half the burners. Toss the chicken with the ginger, 1 tablespoon fish sauce and 1 teaspoon each brown sugar, lime zest, lime juice and chili-garlic sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken skin-side up on the cooler side of the grill; cover and cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees F, about 20 minutes. Move to direct heat and cook, uncovered, flipping occasionally, until the skin is charred and crisp, about 5 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the dressing: Whisk 2 tablespoons water and the remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon lime zest, 2 teaspoons lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce in a large bowl. Whisk in the vegetable oil.
• Add the nectarines, mint, peanuts and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the bowl with the dressing; toss. Divide the chicken and nectarine salad among plates.

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Mix the marinade ingredients together in a cup except for the pepper. Slather over chicken, ensuring all parts are equally covered with marinade. Then sprinkle ground pepper all over the chicken's surface.
• Allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 to 15 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
• If using the oven: Set oven to broil and place chicken on a broiling pan or a foil-lined baking sheet (turn out the sides of the foil to prevent juices from spilling into the oven).
• Place chicken on the second-to-highest rung of your oven, allowing it to cook 5 minutes each side, then turning.
• Continue broiling and turning until cooked (chicken will be lightly charred around the edges). Use the leftover marinade to baste chicken the first time you turn it.
• If using a grill: Place chicken over a hot grill and cook until well done. Use leftover marinade to baste chicken when you turn it the first time.
• To make the dressing: place water, lemongrass, and lime leaf strips in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute (this will soften the lemongrass and bring out the flavor of the lime leaf or zest). Remove from heat.
• Add the rest of the dressing ingredients and mix well.
• Taste the dressing. It should be tangy, or a balance of salty, sweet, spicy, and sour. Adjust it to your taste by adding more fish sauce if not flavorful or salty enough, more lime juice if too salty or sweet, more sugar if too sour, or more chili sauce if not spicy enough for your taste.
• Toss the salad with the dressing. Portion out the salad among individual plates, and top with the fresh herbs, then strips of the hot chicken.
• Serve immediately, while the chicken is still warm.

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN WITH THAI GREEN PAPAYA SALAD (GAI YANG WITH SOM TAM)

Steps:

• For the Thai grilled chicken: Spatchcock each chicken by placing it breast-side down on a cutting board with the legs closest to you. Use kitchen shears to cut down the backbone. Flip the chicken over and press down in the center of the breast to flatten. Prick the skin side all over with a fork.
• Add the cilantro roots, fish sauce, palm sugar, peppercorns, oyster sauce, turmeric, salt and 4 cloves of the garlic to a food processor. Process until all the peppercorns are broken up and a chunky paste is formed.
• Rub the chicken all over with the paste (including under the skin) and marinate at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Meanwhile, cook the remaining 8 cloves garlic with the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, capturing the oil in a small bowl beneath. Spread the garlic on a plate to cool; reserve for serving.
• Before grilling, bring the chicken to room temperature for an hour. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil over the chicken.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a double-burner grill pan over medium heat.
• Place chickens skin-side down on the grill pan at a 45 degree angle. Cook until marked by the grill pan, flipping once to create crosshatches, about 5 minutes. Transfer skin-side up to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack.
• Trim off the spiky top and the base from the lemongrass, peel off the first few outer layers and then bruise the stalk with the heel of a chef's knife; this helps release the flavorful oils. Using the bruised lemongrass as a brush, baste the chickens all over with some of the remaining garlic oil.
• Cook in the oven until the chickens are golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 165 degrees F, 10 to 15 minutes. For the last 2 minutes of baking, switch the oven to broil.
• Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes and then cut each into pieces. Garnish with the reserved garlic.
• For the Thai green papaya salad: Add the garlic, chiles, fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice to a food processor. Process until a chunky paste is formed. (At this point you can adjust the flavor to your liking; add more fish sauce for a saltier taste, more lime juice to make the salad more sour.)
• Transfer the paste to a large bowl and add the papaya, long beans, tomatoes and the dried shrimp and 1 tablespoon of the peanuts if using. Mix together by hand, rubbing the paste into the salad, making sure to coat everything.
• Transfer the salad to a serving dish, making sure to get all the dressing. Top with the remaining 1 tablespoon peanuts if using.

THAI CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Place chicken breast into a 2 quart saucepan with water (the water should cover the chicken breasts), the kosher salt and half of the lemongrass. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer for 20 minutes. Remove chicken and cool completely. When cooled chop into 1/2 inch cubes and reserve in refrigerator.
• Saute garlic, remaining lemongrass and chili powder in oil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Next, toss together the celery, onions, mint, basil and cilantro. Combine chicken with sauteed garlic mixture and the salad components, Add salt, lime juice and honey to taste and place on the lettuce to serve.

AUTHENTIC THAI GRILLED CHICKEN RECIPE (GAI YANG ไก่ย่าง)

Steps:

• For this recipe, I'm going to cook 2 full chickens, together weighing in at 3.6 kilos. If you wanted, you could also make this recipe with 3 - 4 kilos of chicken pieces, or really, however much chicken you want.
• For this gai yang (ไก่ย่าง) to be at its finest, it's best to marinate the chicken overnight and grill it the next day, but if you don't have the time, marinate the chicken for at least a few hours.
• Peel about 4 bulbs of garlic, which should be about 30 - 40 cloves in all.
• Thinly slice 2 stalks of lemongrass and cut off the roots of 8 stalks of coriander.
• Now comes the hard part, pounding everything using a mortar and pestle (If you don't have a mortar and pestle you can blend the ingredients in a food processor (but I'd really recommend you invest in a Thai style mortar and pestle).
• Add small amounts of garlic, lemongrass, black peppercorns, and coriander roots to the mortar and pestle and pound them until the oils come out, and you have a coarse paste. Keep pounding until all the marinade ingredients are finished. You'll probably need to load the mortar a few times.
• Put all the pounded marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir them up, and add 4 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and 2 tablespoons of palm sugar. Mix everything together while adding about 8 tablespoons of water to the mixture. You should end up with a potent marinade that looks like a chunky garlicky sauce.
• If you're using whole chickens, you'll want to butterfly cut them starting from the breast side down to the butt. Flatten the chickens out. This is going to prepare it for the grill (Watch the video to see how to do it).
• In a big pan or mixing bowl start to rub the marinade on the chicken, making sure the garlic, herbs, and soy sauce go into all parts of the chicken. Rub down both chickens using all the marinade.
• Cover the chickens and allow them to rest overnight. You might stir them a couple of times if you remember.
• The next day, take out your chicken, and the first step is to light your charcoal. You want a low even heat, coals that aren't too hot, but a low and even.
• Put the chicken on the grill and begin cooking!
• Wait about 20 minutes or so (but monitoring them to make sure they don't burn), before making your first flip. You can baste the chicken with the extra marinade.
• Cook the chicken on low heat for about 1.5 hours, until the chicken is cooked through to the bone and the skin is golden dark brown on the outside.
• Take the chicken off the grill, and dismantle the bamboo supports.
• If you have a Chinese cleaver, first cut the chicken in half from the neck to the butt, and from there cut off the drumstick, wing, and chop the rest of the chicken into strips.
• Semi-dried tamarind pulp can usually be bought at the supermarket in a small block. To rehydrate it, get a couple tablespoons of hot water and start to work the tamarind into the hot water. This should turn it into a nice tamarind water sauce.
• In a bowl, mix 1.5 tablespoons of khao kua (toasted sticky rice, recipe here), 1.5 tablespoons of chili flakes, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 8 tablespoons of tamarind juice.
• Mix all of the ingredients together.
• After mixing up the sauce, make sure you taste test. You're looking for the perfect sweet, sour, and salty combination. You might need to add more tamarind juice, more sugar, or more fish sauce to balance it out.
• Top off your gai yang sauce with some chopped up cilantro.
• Happy eating!

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD WITH BASIL & MINT

Steps:

• Stir together the marinade and pour over the chicken strips. Toss to coat, then set in the refrigerator to marinate while you prepare the salad greens.
• Stir the salad dressing ingredients together in a cup. Taste-test the dressing, looking for a tangy taste that is a balance between sweet and sour, salty and spicy (it should have some kick to it from the cayenne/chili). Add a little more sugar if it's too sour. Set aside.
• Heat up grill and lightly brush grill with a little vegetable oil. Grill your marinated chicken, basting it with the left-over marinate the first time you turn it. For oven-broiling, place chicken strips on a broiler pan (or on a foil-covered cookie sheet, turning up foil at the edges to prevent spilling). Set oven to broil setting and place chicken on one of the upper racks, turning it every 3-5 minutes, or until well done.
• For the mint and basil, stack the leaves on top of each other, then thinly slice into slivers and toss in with the salad. Add most to the salad and toss with most of the dressing. Portion out onto plates and top with the hot chicken strips. Drizzle remaining dressing over the chicken and top with remaining basil and mint. For those who like it spicy, minced fresh chili can also be sprinkled over.

GRILLED THAI CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• In a blender, combine the first six ingredients; cover and process until blended. Pour into a large resealable plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. , Drain and discard marinade. Lightly oil the grill rack. , Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 4-7 minutes on each side or a thermometer reads 170°. , In a large salad bowl, combine the greens, red pepper, bean sprouts and peas. In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients until smooth. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cut chicken into strips; arrange over salad.