Thai Roadside Grilled Chicken Recipe |
Thai Roadside Grilled Chicken (photo courtesy of At the Farmers’ Market)
Our friend Cheryl Paff once operated an organic café in New York City’s East Village, but these days she spends most of her time in upstate New York’s fertile Hudson Valley where she manages the Rhinebeck Farmers Market.
When she’s not busy with the market, Cheryl loves to travel and makes a point of visiting farmers markets wherever she goes. Her wanderlust has provided opportunities to work with and learn from wonderful cooks from all over the world.
Cheryl discovered this recipe for grilled chicken slathered with a deliciously mysterious coating on a trip to Doi Inthanon National Waterfall Park in Northern Thailand. A roadside vendor there provides picnic lunches consisting of a whole grilled chicken – cut up, a bag of sticky rice and a tangy dipping sauce for some finger lickin’ goodness while enjoying the stunning natural beauty of the waterfalls.
Cheryl offers this tip for cooks ready to give her recipe a try, “If you shop at the farmers’ market, you’ll often see herbs with the roots still on. This is a great use for those cilantro roots! Just rinse them really well, give them a rough chop and then rinse them again.”
Ingredients for the Chicken
• 3 to 4 Pounds Chicken – cut up into 8 pieces
• 2 Teaspoons Black Peppercorns
• 6 Garlic Cloves – roughly chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Cilantro Roots & Stems – roughly chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
Ingredients for the Dipping Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Cider or Rice Vinegar
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Clove Garlic – minced
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Chile Pepper Flakes
Preparation
1. For the chicken, pound the peppercorns, garlic and cilantro roots into a paste with a mortar and pestle, add the fish sauce and blend it in. Smear this mixture all over the chicken pieces, then place them in an airtight container. Chill for several hours turning and re-smearing (is that a word?) occasionally.
2. For the dipping sauce, bring the vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Simmer 5 minutes. Work the garlic and salt into a paste using the back of a knife or a mortar and pestle. Combine the garlic paste with the chile pepper flakes and vinegar. Set aside to cool.
3. When ready to cook the chicken, remove the chicken from the fridge about 1/2 hour prior to cooking while you prepare a charcoal fire. When the coals are hot, place the chicken on the grill bone side down for about 8 minutes. Turn and cook the other side until the chicken is cooked through, 6-8 minutes or until 165°F on a meat thermometer.
4. Serve with the dipping sauce and sticky rice…eat with your fingers.
To visit Cheryl’s blog and follow her culinary adventures, go to: At the Farmers’ Market
To learn more about Cheryl’s superb farmers market in Hudson Valley, go to: Rhinebeck Farmers Market
For information about an artisanal rice wine vinegar from San Rafael, California, go to: Yuzu Rice Vinegar
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