This Thai Grilled Chicken Recipe Is a Mouthgasm Waiting to Happen
There’s something inherently summery about Thai cuisine. It’s that unique blend of sharp, sour, sweet and spicy that transforms even the blandest ingredients and is often paid tribute to through lukewarm imitations in countries all over the world. But to be eating authentic Thai food, while the sun shines – does it get any better?
For The Siam Hotel executive chef Damri Muksombat, summer food is encapsulated in a single, deceptively simple dish: grilled chicken with salad.
“My favourite summer food memory is definitely grilled chicken – mum’s recipe of course! Especially after a day of running around with all my friends in the fields,” he says.
But as you’ll see, Chef Damri’s grilled chicken is a notch above the pale fillets you may be thinking of. “Any dish with pomelo is ideal for the summer heat. Pomelo is probably the most refreshing fruit around: sweet, but not too sharp, with a hint of sourness and super juicy. In yam, the Thai spicy salad, there’s a perfect blend of tastes and so many textures: the crunchiness from cashew nut, the juiciness from the sauce and pomelo pulp. To have that with grilled chicken is just pure bliss!”
Gai Yang (chargrilled chicken with tamarind sauce)
YOU’LL NEED
• Half a chicken
• 10g garlic
• 20g lemongrass
• 5g coriander root
• 5g fresh turmeric
• 5g black pepper powder
• 2g coriander seed
• 30ml Carnation milk
• 30ml mushroom soy sauce
• 30ml oyster sauce
• 30ml vegetable oil
• 20g palm sugar
FOR THE SAUCE
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground rice
• 3g shallot, finely sliced
• 3g coriander, chopped
TO FINISH
• Fried ginger
• Fried galangal
• Fried dry chilli
• Fried garlic
• Fried shallot
• Fried turmeric
• Fried kaffir lime leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken in the mixture for about two hours.
2. Put the chicken into the oven at 190ºC and cook for 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients together for the nam jim jaew (tamarind) sauce.
3. When the chicken is cooked, cut into pieces and plate with all the crispy garnishes: fried dry chilli, ginger, turmeric, galangal, garlic, shallot, and kaffir lime leaves. Serve the nam jim jaew sauce alongisde.
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