Gai yang (Thai grilled chicken)
Thai street-stall chicken marinated in garlic, cilantro, pepper and fish sauce, roasted until burnished and served with sweet chili sauce.
- 80 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.00 a serving
- 810 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ cup cilantro, stems and leaves, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- ⅓ cup sweet chili sauce
- 1 cucumber, sliced (optional)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp brown sugar
- 1½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2¼ cups water
Each serving has about 810 calories, 39 g protein, 75 g carbs and 37 g fat, and costs about $2.00 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No bone-in chicken thighs? Chicken drumsticks work.
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the garlic, cilantro, fish sauce, brown sugar, pepper and oil together in a big bowl.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the chicken dry and rub the marinade all over it and under the skin. Cover and in the fridge for 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Marinate. Marinating means letting food sit in a flavorful liquid, called a marinade, before you cook it. Always marinate in the fridge, and never reuse marinade from raw meat unless you boil it first.
How you’ll know: The food is coated all over, sealed in a bag or covered dish, and chilling in the fridge.
Timer: 30 min
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
the oven to 425°F and line a with foil. Lay the chicken on it skin side up.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
35 to 40 minutes, until the skin is deep and the thickest thigh reads 165°F.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 37 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: The sugar and fish sauce turn the skin dark and glossy. That’s what you want.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
While it , the rice and bring it with the water in a medium over high heat.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and keep the lid on.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the chicken 2 to 3 minutes, watching closely, until in spots.
Broil. Broiling means cooking under the oven’s top heating element, with strong heat from above. It browns and crisps the top in minutes, and it can burn fast, so stay close.
How you’ll know: The top bubbles and spots golden brown; check every minute and pull it before it blackens.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Timer: 2 min 30 sec
Serve with the rice, cucumber slices, lime wedges and a bowl of sweet chili sauce for dipping.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Fish sarciado (Filipino fish in tomato and egg sauce)
45 min
Cajun chicken and rice bake
80 min
Chicken tocino
65 min
Sayadieh (Lebanese spiced fish and rice)
60 min
High-protein dinners ›Cheap chicken thigh recipes ›What to make with chicken and rice ›What to make with rice and cucumber ›What to make with chicken and cucumber ›