Description
Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang) is a classic Thai street food favorite featuring juicy, marinated boneless chicken thighs infused with fragrant lemongrass, garlic, and fish sauce. This flavorful chicken is grilled to golden perfection and served with coconut rice and zesty accompaniments like lime wedges, fresh chilies, and traditional Nam Jim Jaew sauce for a delicious, authentic Thai meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Marinade
- 2 lb / 1 kg chicken thigh fillets, skinless and boneless
- 1 large lemongrass stalk, white part only, sliced 5mm thick
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (or any all-purpose soy or tamari)
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 3 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar, tightly packed
- 2 tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable or canola oil)
To Serve
- Nam Jim Jaew (traditional Thai dipping sauce for meat) – recommended
- Lime sweet chili sauce
- Sweet chili sauce (bottle)
- Lime wedges
- Red chili, finely sliced (optional)
- Cilantro/coriander leaves (optional)
- Coconut rice
Instructions
- Blitz the Marinade: Place lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and brown sugar into a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until the lemongrass and garlic are fully pureed. If you don’t have a stick blender, finely grate the lemongrass and garlic, then mix thoroughly with the other ingredients.
- Marinate the Chicken: Pour the pureed marinade into a bowl and stir in the oil. Add the chicken thigh fillets and toss to coat them thoroughly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight for best flavor, or at least 3 hours. If short on time, finely slice the chicken, toss in the marinade, and cook like a stir-fry.
- Preheat the Grill or Pan: Heat an outdoor BBQ grill on high, or place a non-stick pan over high heat on the stove.
- Cook the Chicken: Remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade (unless baking in the oven, then reserve marinade as per recipe note). Place the chicken on the grill or pan, then reduce the heat to medium to prevent burning due to the sweetness of the marinade. Cook the chicken fillets for about 5 to 6 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. If the chicken burns, flip immediately and you may flip repeatedly as needed to avoid burning.
- Rest and Serve: Let the chicken rest for 3 minutes after cooking. Serve with a mound of warm coconut rice, lime wedges, fresh sliced chili, coriander leaves, and your choice of dipping sauces such as Nam Jim Jaew or sweet chili sauce.
Notes
- Note 1: Using skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets ensures tender and juicy results.
- Note 2: Only use the white part of the lemongrass and remove tough outer layers for the best texture and flavor.
- Note 3: Light soy sauce and dark soy sauce provide depth and color. If baking instead of grilling or pan-cooking, you may reserve marinade to baste the chicken during cooking, but discard when grilling or pan-frying to avoid contamination.
- Marinate overnight for best flavor penetration, but at least 3 hours is recommended.
- If short on time, slicing the chicken and quickly stir-frying is an effective alternative to grilling.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Thai
Keywords: Thai grilled chicken, Gai Yang, lemongrass chicken, Thai BBQ, grilled chicken thighs, Thai marinade chicken
