Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)

4.98 from 79 votes

Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)

Recipe video above. This Thai Chicken recipe is an easy way to make Gai Yang at home, Thailand’s famous barbecue chicken. It uses a fragrant Thai marinade that delivers street-stall delicious – without pounding pastes, lighting coals or wrestling a whole chicken! Cook on the stove though it's especially great on the BBQ.

A dipping sauce isn’t essential because the marinade already brings big flavour and keeps the chicken super juicy. But in Thailand it’s traditional, so why not? Spoon it over or dunk away!

Serve with Coconut Rice and swoon!

Prep Time8

Cook Time12

Marinating time1

Total Time20

Course: Barbecue, BBQ, Chicken, Grilling

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: gai yang, thai BBQ chicken, Thai chicken, thai chicken marinade, thai grilled chicken, Thai street food chicken

Servings:

Calories: 280cal

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

2 lb / 1 kg chicken thigh fillets (skinless, boneless) (Note 1)

Marinade

1 large lemongrass stalk , white part only, reedy outer layers removed, sliced 5mm / 1/5" thick (Note 2 tube paste sub)
4 cloves garlic , peeled (whole)
2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce , or any all-purpose soy or tamari (Note 3)
2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 3)
3 tbsp (tightly packed) brown sugar or palm sugar
2 tbsp oil , vegetable, canola, or any other neutral flavoured oil

Sauce options optional- CHOOSE ONE

Nam Jim Jaew - traditional Thai Dipping Sauce for meat *RECOMMENDED*
Lime Sweet Chilli Sauce from Thai Beef Bowls recipe (quick to make)
Bottle of sweet chilli sauce

Garnishes / sides

Lime wedges
Red chili , finely sliced (optional)
Cilantro / coriander leaves (optional)
Coconut rice

Instructions

Blitz - Place Marinade ingredients EXCEPT oil in a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until lemongrass and garlic is fully pureed. (No stick blender? Finely grate lemongrass and garlic, then mix)
Marinate - Pour in a bowl. Add oil, stir. Add chicken, toss to thoroughly coat. Cover and marinate overnight (my bare minimum is 3 hours). No marinating time? Finely slice, toss in marinade then cook like a stir-fry.
Heat the outdoor BBQ grill on high or a non stick pan over high heat on the stove.
Cook - Remove chicken from the Marinade and discard the Marinade (unless baking in the oven - refer Note 3). Put chicken on the BBQ or in the pan, then turn heat down to medium (sweet marinade = prone to burning). Cook the chicken until golden brown - around 5 to 6 minutes on each side. (If it burns, flip straight away. You can flip repeatedly, as needed.)
Rest and serve - Rest for 3 minutes. Serve alongside a mound of steamy coconut rice with lime wedges, garnished with fresh chilies and coriander/cilantro, and your chosen sauce.

Notes

1. Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless) are my favourite cut for this recipe - juicy, and enough fat to caramelise the edges (it's the best!). For breast, best to split in half horizontally or pound to even thickness, and add a bit of oil into the pan / oil the BBQ grills.

To use bone-in, skin-one pieces, flip frequently and cook for longer until cooked through. You could also bake at 200C/400F (180C fan) for around 45 minutes - baste towards the end for lovely caramelisation.

2. Lemongrass is readily available in supermarkets in Australia these days. Peel the outer green layers off to expose the white part at the bottom of the stalk (~15cm/6"). Only use the white / pale green parts - the other parts are tough and "reed" like.

Lemongrass tube paste - I haven't tried for this recipe but I would use about 1 tablespoon as the flavour is much milder than using fresh lemongrass, especially as we blitz if in this recipe which releases a lot of flavour.

3. Soy sauce - You can substitute the dark soy sauce with more light soy but do NOT substitute the light soy with more dark soy sauce (it is far too intense and will ruin the dish!).

4. Oven - If you want to use the oven, it is best to broil/oven grill, on a rack, for around 15 minutes on high, turning as needed. You'll get good caramelisation without overcooking the chicken!

Regular oven bake - 200C/375F (180C fan) for around 20 - 25 minutes, depending on the size of your fillets though you won't get the same amount of caramelisation. Turn once and baste at least once (preferably twice) using the remaining Marinade.

Nutrition for chicken only, assuming half the marinade is discarded.

Nutrition