← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken thighs, bone-in skin-on or boneless
• 5 cloves Garlic
• 3 coriander roots (or a small handful of stems)
• 1 tsp white peppercorns or ground white pepper
• 1 lemongrass stalk, white part, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp Fish sauce
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp tamarind purée
• 1 tsp Palm sugar
• 1½ tsp Chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp toasted sticky rice powder (see tip)
• 1 Shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped

Method

1. Pound the garlic, coriander roots, pepper and lemongrass to a coarse paste in a mortar (or blitz in a small blender). Mix with the fish sauce, both soy sauces, sugar and oil.
2. Slash the chicken through the thickest parts, rub the marinade all over and into the cuts, then cover and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. For the dip, stir the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then add the chilli flakes, rice powder, shallot and coriander. It should be sour, salty and smoky-hot.
4. Heat a barbecue or grill pan to medium. Grill the chicken, turning every few minutes, for 20–25 min (bone-in) or 12–15 min (boneless), until charred in spots and cooked through to 75°C (165°F). Move it to a cooler part of the grill if the sugar starts to burn.
5. Rest the chicken for 5 min, then chop into pieces and serve with the dip, sticky rice and som tam.

Tips

• For the rice powder, dry-fry raw sticky rice until deep golden, then grind it; a jar keeps for weeks.
• Use tamari instead of both soy sauces to make it gluten-free. No grill? Roast at 220°C (425°F) for 30–35 minutes.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

RecipeTin Eats Rachel Cooks Thai Temple of Thai