Thai Chicken Thighs
This recipe includes a TON of chopped Basil and Cilantro - mixed in with a serrano chile, some fish sauce, brown sugar and soy - providing the Thai flavoring for the chicken thighs. Be prepared to marinade the chicken overnight - ensuring the chicken has time to absorb the flavors.
Ingredients
- 12 Chicken Thighs - We prefer boneless / skinless, but sometimes cook skinless with bones...
Marinade Ingredients
- 2/3 C Cilantro - Chopped
- 2/3 C Basil - Chopped -- Ideally Thai Basil if you can find it
- 2 Tbl Garlic - Minced
- 2 Tbl Ginger - Minced
- 2 Tbl Serrano Pepper - Minced
- 3 Tbl Soy Sauce
- 3 Tbl Olive Oil - EVOO
- 3 Tbl Fish Sauce
- 3 Tbl Brown Sugar - Packed
Instructions
- Get out your refrigerated / pantry ingredients.
- Clean and organize your fresh ingredients.
- Chop your basil and your cilantro. See notes.
- Smash and remove skins from garlic. Chop finely.
- Peel and grate your ginger. See notes.
- Wash and chop the serrano fairly finely.
- Measure and add remaining ingredients to your marinade container. You can use a bowl, a marinade container (Tupperware for the win!) or a zip lock bag...
- Stir up the marinade ingredients.
- Add the chicken / Smoosh up the chicken / flip around your marinade container and ensure the chicken is well mixed. Place in the fridge. Occasionally flip or smoosh up the chicken ensuring the marinade is flowing around and getting into all the folds of the chicken. Marinade ~24 hours.
- Grill the chicken after 24 hours: Dave likes to grill marinaded meat on the big green egg. This allows the marinade to more easily burn off because it drips onto the charcoal. If you don't have a charcoal grill or a big green egg - grill on the indirect portion of your gas / propane grill.
- All grills : Medium High heat. Somewhere between 8-10 minutes total time. (All grills / temps are different). Get a meat thermometer and target 140 - 150 degrees. After you take the chicken off the grill it will continue to cook a bit - especially if you tent it for a few minutes with tin foil.On the egg / charcoal - Dave would start on direct heat for about 1.5 min per side (get me some crispy bits) and then move the chicken to indirect for the next 5-7 minutes. For propane / gas grill cook indirect - use your thermometer and target the proper internal temp - it will probably take a little longer as it's indirect heat the whole cooking time. See NOTE on cooking temperature.
Notes
When you buy a bunch of cilantro - you can chop off the top portion that includes all the leaves - and exclude the portion of the stem that does not include many leaves. I typically cut just above the twisty tie / rubber band / binder and then toss the bottom 1/3. Do not worry about the fine stems that are included in the top 2/3 of the cilantro that you use.
True Story: I used to sit and pick off the cilantro leaves off each and every stem. That took me two weeks and 4 days to get enough cilantro for this recipe. <joke> I went to a cooking class - my old neighbor in Chicago was a professional chef - and he said just chop up the delicate stems on the top - especially if you are making a marinade or a chimichurri. Don't use the thicker stems...
For the basil all my stems were very thick - so I removed them and just used the leaves.
For the Ginger: I like to buy the biggest 'stem' I can see. I chop off the 'arms' or bumps - as I've found ginger to be cheap and messing with those arms or stems, if small are not worth my time. I use a spoon to pull off the skin from the ginger. Then I essentially have one large piece that I grate over a hand held zester.
For the Serrano: Careful with the heat. I did two Serranos for 8 thighs and every other bite was SPICY. I like Spicy. These are Thai Chicken Thighs. Careful if you are feeding heat sensitive people or children... You could sub a Jalapeño and/or remove some of the ribs and seeds for less spice.
This chicken is awesome. I said 12 thighs serves 4 people... Consider who you are serving and how much they might eat and use the multiplier buttons on the recipe to get where you need to be...
The USDA suggests that chicken ought to be cooked to 165 degrees internal temp. Sometimes people find chicken to be overcooked, or in general, tough. If you cook chicken to 140 / 150 degrees you may find the chicken to be juicier and more tender. Please be safe when cooking chicken for your friends and family.
Last note: In the pics I only had 8 thighs...That's all I made based on package sizes at my grocery. I had to do math and adjust the measurements, as it was 2/3 of a full recipe.
This recipe was adapted from a Food.com recipe (Thai Chicken Thighs) that was adapted from an Epicurious recipe... (that was probably adapted from a different recipe.... ha)
Nutrition
Calories: 575kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 68gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 322mgSodium: 1579mgPotassium: 1025mgFiber: 1gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 544IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!