Delicious UK - (05)May 2020

Thai grilled chicken

(gai yang)

SERVES 4-6 AS PART OF A THAI MEAL.

HANDS-ON TIME 15 MIN, BARBECUING/

ROASTING TIME 1-1¼ HOURS, PLUS AT

LEAST 6 HOURS BRINING

Forget pad Thai – grilled

chicken with green papaya

salad (som tum) and sticky rice

is the Thai street food. The best

grilled chicken comes from

Khun Toi’s stall in Chiang Dao,

in northwest Thailand, but he’ll

never part with his recipe – and

rightly so.

MAKE

AHEAD

You need to start brining

the chicken at least 6 hours

before you want to cook it.

NEXT

MONTH

Part6:

Salad

LOOKING

FOR PARTS

ONE TO

FOUR?

If you’ve

missed the

first four

parts in Kay’s

Thai cooking

series, you

can find them

online at

delicious

magazine.co.uk

A BIT ABOUT KAY

Food writer

and broadcaster

Kay is the author

of Baan: Recipes

and Stories from

my Thai Home

(Pavilion Books

£20) and books

on cocktails,

aperitifs

and drinks.

Howtomaster

grilling,Thaistyle

SPECIALEQUIPMENT

Youcanovenroastthechicken

(seetip),butnothingmakes

thistastebetterthangrillingit

overcharcoal.Thesmellofthe

chickencookingisguaranteed

topiqueyourappetite.

GETTHEFLAVOURRIGHT

Thebrineisthekey,pulling

flavourintothebird.Youwant

todothisforatleast6 hours

orovernight.

HOWTOSERVEANDEATIT

Cutthechickenintoportions,

thenservewithstickyriceand

freshcoriander,withlime

squeezedover,if youlike.

1. Proper green curry 2. The art of stir-frying 3. Secrets of Thai soup 4. The art of steaming

KNOW-

HOW

• SPATCHCOCK A CHICKEN
  Ask your butcher to do this
  for you, or search “how
  to spatchcock a chicken” at
  deliciousmagazine.co.uk.


• CORIANDER ROOT is used in
  many Thai and Asian recipes. Its
  flavour is more earthy and celery-
  like than that of the leaves. Find
  it in Asian grocers and online at
  thai-food-online.co.uk. If you can’t
  find it, use coriander stalks.
  FOOD
  TEAM’S
  TIP

If you’re oven-roasting

the chicken, start it off in

a hot griddle pan or under

a grill to re-create the charring

from a barbecue.

• 1.6kg free-range chicken,
  spatchcocked (see Know-how)


• Sticky rice, handful fresh
  coriander sprigs and lime wedges
  to serve (optional)

FOR THE BRINE

• 1 tsp white peppercorns,
  lightly crushed


• 1 tsp coriander seeds,
  lightly crushed


• 4 large garlic cloves, bashed
  with a rolling pin or the flat of
  a knife


• 125g salt


• 50g caster sugar

FOR THE BASTE

• 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped


• 1 tbsp white peppercorns, crushed
  with a rolling pin/flat of a knife


• 4 coriander roots, roughly chopped
  (see Know-how)


• 1 tbsp palm sugar
  
  
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
  
  
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  
  
  • Splash vegetable oil
  
  
  
  

YOU’LL ALSO NEED...

• Pestle and mortar or mini blender

1 For the brine, mix all the

ingredients in a large bowl with

3 litres cold water, stirring to

dissolve the salt and sugar. Add the

chicken, cover, then leave in the

fridge for 6 hours (see How to Master

Grilling, left). Remove the chicken

and pat dry with kitchen paper.

2 To make the baste, pound the

garlic, peppercorns and coriander

roots to a paste in a pestle and

mortar (or use a mini-blender). Stir

in the remaining ingredients with a

good pinch of salt to combine well.

3 To barbecue the chicken, light the

coals and arrange them in a bank

under one side of the grill rack.

Once they’re glowing white hot, set

the chicken away from the banked

coals and grill for 1-1¼ hours,

turning and basting from time to

time, until cooked through and

the juices run clear when you push

a skewer into the thickest part of

the thigh or breast. (Alternatively,

to roast the chicken, heat the oven to

200°C/180°C fan/gas 6, then roast

in a tin for 1-1¼ hours until cooked

through and the juices run clear.)

To serve, see How to Master

Grilling, top left.

PER SERVING (FOR 6) 246kcals,

8.6g fat (2g saturated), 38.4g protein,

4.2g carbs (3.6g sugars), 2.9g salt,

0.2g fibre

130 deliciousmagazine.co.uk