Thai Grilled Chicken – Gai Yang
Thai Grilled Chicken or Gai Yang in Thai, is a coconut-basted grilled spatchcock chicken.
Our friend Nick from KAB Brighton, a fabulous micro Thai restaurant, came and gave us a Thai class, and this was one of the recipes. It’s simple to make but packs amazing flavour.
Cooking surfaces
BBQ Temperature
Ingredients
For the marinaded chicken
- 1 chicken
- 4 tbsp coriander stalks, chopped
- 6 cloves fresh garlic
- 4 shallots
- 2 stick lemongrass
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
- 1 cup of coconut milk (tins with 60% min coconut)
For the dipping sauce – Nam Jim Jeaw
- 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 tsp roasted chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp shallots, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp spring onions, chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh coriander, chopped
- 1 tbsp toasted rice powder
Equipment
No special equipment, just decent lumpwood charcoal with no chemicals in it (restaurant grade).
Method
For the dipping sauce
- Combine all the ingredients except the coriander and rice and mix.
- Allow to stand for 1 hour.
- Toast jasmine rice until golden, and then grind in a mortar and pestle to make a course powder.
- Just before serving add the rice powder and coriander to the dipping sauce.
For the chicken
- Spatchcock your chicken through the breast bone, the opposite way we do it in Europe. The Asians believe the chicken remains more moist cut this way.
- Add all the other ingredients except the coconut milk to a blender and blend to a paste.
- Smear your chicken with this paste and allow to marinade for 4 hours minimum, preferably overnight.
- Setup your Big Green Egg for a direct cook at 180°C with just your stainless steel grid.
- Cook your chicken, basting it every 5 or so minutes, with the coconut milk. Every so often, turn your chicken over.
- Cook your chicken until it has a good colour and the internal temperature of the breasts has reached at least 74°C.
- Allow your chicken to rest for 10 minutes before portioning. Thai people portion their chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Serve with your dipping sauce.