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GAI YANG CHARCOAL CHICKEN
This traditional Thai dish is best cooked over charcoal in a Hibachi or kettle barbeque to get an authentic slightly smoky flavour. But it is still delicious cooked over direct heat on a gas barby.
It comprises boned, skinned chicken thigh fillets (about six) marinated in:
A couple of tablespoons of (finely sliced) lemon grass
The same amount of finely sliced coriander roots and leaves
One cup of coconut milk
A couple of teaspoons of garlic
A teaspoon of fresh ginger
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 teaspoon of cracked black
Marinate for at least three hours. Serve the fillets with jasmine rice and capsicum/chilli/red onion/beans/ bamboo slices stir fried in coconut cream and Thai green curry paste.
Make a dipping sauce from some sweet chilli sauce . Give it a squirt of lime juice and toss in any leftover chopped coriander leaves.
CHICKEN ON STICKS
ONE STICK CHICKEN (SATAY)
In the somewhat relaxed atmosphere of Chateau Blue, this traditional Malaysian-style satay dish is called one stick chicken to differentiate it from another favourite chicken dish – yakitori - which involves the use of two bamboo skewers.
Six chicken thigh fillets (boned and skinless)
A couple of teaspoons of minced garlic
A couple of teaspoons of finely sliced lemongrass
Two teaspoons of crushed ginger
Two tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce
A tablespoon of sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis)
Two tablespoons of lime juice
A tablespoon of finely chopped coriander
A dozen bamboo skewers
Slice the chicken into even strips and combine with the other ingredients in a ziplock bag or a non-reactive bowl. Use your hands to ‘squelch’ everything together until the chicken pieces are evenly coated.
Put the chicken into the fridge to marinate for an hour or two (up to six hours is okay). Let the skewers soak in water for at least an hour.
Thread the chicken evenly on to the skewers while you pre-heat the barby. Place them on the hot barby and spoon over some of the remaining marinade while they are cooking.
If you are lazy, serve the chicken with a commercial stay sauce or else prepare your own while the chicken is soaking in the marinade. Simply mix together and heat the following ingredients in a saucepan (this could be your big chance to actually use that groovy little burner on the side of the barby):
300 g of peanut butter (most of a small jar)
A 400 ml can of coconut milk
A tablespoon of tamarind puree
A couple of tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce
A couple of tablespoons of fish sauce
Add a tablespoon or two of brown sugar if you want it sweet or a squirt of chill sauce (sriracha is good) if you want a bit more bite. If the sauce becomes too thick add lime juice or more coconut milk. Spoon the sauce over the satays or serve separately in a bowl.
TWO STICK CHICKEN (YAKITORI)
You can follow much the same procedure as for satay chicken except it will require twice as many bamboo skewers. For the marinade, you will need:
A cup of soy sauce
A couple of tablespoons of honey
Half a cup of mirin (sweet rice wine)
Two teaspoons of crushed ginger
Two teaspoons of minced garlic
Slice the chicken thighs into strips again and combine with the marinade, soak for at least an hour (while the skewers are soaking).
Wash about a dozen shallots (or spring onions as they are increasingly being called to differentiate them from ‘real’ shallots). Remove the outer layers and trim them top and bottom (you want thickish bits).
Cut the shallots into pieces that are about as long as the bits of chicken (no, you don't have to get out a ruler – the idea is to end up with chicken and shallot pieces that are roughly the same length).
Now comes the slightly tricky part - lay the slices of chicken and shallots on a cutting board side by side (chicken/shallot/chicken/shallot and chicken) and push a bamboo stick through one side of the five pieces and another through the other side. It's sort of like drawing up a noughts and crosses grid except there are two down and five across.
While the filled sticks take a rest back in the fridge, heat up the marinade to reduce it to a sauce-like consistency. Brush this over the two stick chicken while it is being grilled and use as a dipping sauce.
Both of these chicken dishes are ideal for eating around the barby as an entree and that’s why I suggest you serve both. They involve similar preparation and take about the same amount of time to grill. However, the tastes and appearance are quite different and people will think you have gone to a whole heap of trouble.
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