This savory and aromatic roasted chicken is perfect for weeknight dinners or weekend BBQs alike. Great in the oven or cooking on a grill, the secret is truly in the marinade itself made from lots of Thai flavor mainstays.
For those unfamiliar, Thai cuisine places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy kick. Traditional Thai cuisine loosely falls into four categories: tom (boiled dishes), yam (spicy salads), tam (pounded foods), and gaeng (curries). Deep-fries, stir-fries, and steamed dishes derive from Chinese cooking.
According to the Thai monk Venerable Buddhadasa Bhikku's writing, ‘India's Benevolence to Thailand’, Thai cuisine was influenced heavily by Indian cuisine. He wrote that Thai people learned how to use spices in their food in various ways from Indians. Thais also obtained the methods of making herbal medicines from the Indians.
Unlike many other cuisines that might focus on the simplicity of ingredients and preparation, Thai cooking is about the juggling of separate elements to create a harmonious finish. Like a complex musical chord that sounds good on the ear, even though sometimes the notes between don’t make a lot of sense. Balance is everything.
Renowned Thai chef McDang describes Thai food as demonstrating "intricacy; attention to detail; texture; color; taste; and the use of ingredients with medicinal benefits, as well as good flavor", as well as care being given to the food's appearance, smell, and cultural context. It should taste good and feel good!
Breaking down a chicken is easier than most people think, especially when using a Classic Cleaver to get through any cartilage and small bones! Some are intimidated by the whole breakdown process, but a chicken is divided between 4 pieces, the right and left legs and the right and left breasts– plus two wings and a chicken back. This recipe doesn’t use the back, but it can be great for making your own chicken stock or chicken essence once you have a few of them!
I decided to divide the legs and breasts into thigh and drum and the breast into two pieces to make the marinade penetrate easier. Then the chicken is pierced with a knife or a Forge To Table Rosewood Fork to get the marinade even further into the chicken.
Speaking of the marinade, it's comprised of a combination of delicious aromatics that will help season and flavor the chicken. There is ginger for a spicy sweetness, lemongrass for bright lemon flavor, cilantro stems for a fresh punch, garlic for savoriness, white pepper for a spicy round flavor, soy sauce for salty umami, sugar for balance, chili flakes for a hit of heat, and coconut milk for a rich aroma. Blend all these together and you have an incredible marinade for chicken, but can also work on tofu, pork chops, and much more!
Time does matter when marinating this dish. The minimum amount of time is 4 hours
for a light flavor, but overnight or up to 24 hours is the best amount of time to let all the flavors marry with the chicken.
Once the chicken has finished marinating after 4-24 hours, it’s time to cook! This recipe is written to be cooked in the oven, but cooking on a hot grill could work just as well. Large pieces of chicken are hard to cook on a grill, but since these are broken into smaller pieces, they should cook up relatively easily.
Some sides that make a solid addition to a Thai BBQ feast are steamed rice, sliced cucumber, sliced lime, sweet chili sauce, fresh cilantro, and we even threw some CHI Kitchen Sesame Slaw on the side for some fermented goodness!
It doesn’t take a lot to bring big flavor to your oncoming BBQ’s just some patience and know-how. Whether you like dark meat or white meat, this recipe has you covered!
Thai BBQ Chicken
This savory and aromatic roasted chicken is perfect for weeknight dinners or weekend BBQs alike. The secret is in the marinade– composed of ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, garlic, spices, and coconut milk. Pair with sweet chili sauce, rice, and some fresh vegetables for a true feast!
Recipe and Photography by Sam Burgess
Forge To Table Knives
Prep Time: 4-½ hours
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1, 3-½ - 5 lbs whole chicken
2 tablespoons ginger, minced or paste
2 tablespoons lemongrass, minced or paste
2 tablespoons cilantro stems, minced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons white pepper
⅓ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon chili flakes (gochugaru preferred)
1 cup coconut milk
Steamed rice, for serving
1 cucumber, sliced, for serving
1 lime, sliced into 8, for serving
Cilantro, chopped, for serving
Sweet chili sauce, for serving
Directions:
BREAKDOWN. Using your Forge To Table Classic Cleaver, remove the wings, then the legs, slice down the back, and split the chicken breasts into individual pieces. Divide the drum from the thigh and slice the breast into 2 evenly sized pieces. There should be 8 pieces of skin-on chicken plus 2 wings and a chicken back. Use the back for stock or another recipe. Using a Forge To Table Rosewood Fork or a smaller knife, pierce the chicken pieces all over. Place them into a gallon-sized bag.
MARINADE. Into the bowl of a blender or food processor, add minced ginger, minced lemongrass, minced cilantro stems, crushed garlic, white pepper, soy sauce, sugar, chili flakes, and coconut milk. Blend until smooth. Pour the mixture over the chicken, close the bag, and massage well. Let marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
ROAST CHICKEN. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Layout the marinated chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet, skin-side up. Roast the chicken until an internal temperature of 160F degrees in the breast and thigh, about 22-28 minutes.
BROIL CHICKEN. Preheat broiler. Place the chicken under the broiler until the skin is browned, about 60-90 seconds. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving with sliced cucumber, a squeeze of lime, cilantro, and sweet chili sauce!
Chef’s Notes:
The chicken can be broken into 4 pieces (2 whole legs, 2 whole breasts) if desired. Increase cooking time to about 30-35 minutes.
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