Recipe: Grilled Thai Chili Glazed Chicken

I was sitting for about ten minutes in the produce section of the supermarket trying to figure out what I wanted for dinner, but wanted to use up some of the stuff I had in the house before buying a ton of fresh ingredients. I ended up walking out with three limes, a fresh ginger root and a clove of garlic for the modest price of $2.49 American. Ginger and garlic are included in a lot of the asian cooking I do, so I knew I was off to a good start.

I started by dicing up some of the garlic and ginger and toasting them in a little oil. I usually season the oil this way when I cook with a wok, but haven't really tried it as the beginning of a glaze before. Once my kitchen smelled like a Chinese restaurant, I added the juice of two limes and the zest of one. Then 2 cups of honey and 2 Tbsp of Sriracha chili sauce got dumped into the pot. I continued to simmer this mixture for a few minutes to allow it to reduce slightly, then removed it from the heat to allow it to cool off before I had to cook with it. Once cooled, the glaze will be much thicker and stick to the chicken on the grill more easily than at a warmer temperature.








I seasoned three boneless, skinless chicken thighs with salt and dried cilantro flakes and went outside to get the grill set up. I used about 3/4 of a chimney starter all on one side of the grill so I could do higher heat indirect grilling; once the chicken started to firm up, I brushed the glaze on every few minutes, flipping them over every other time. The glaze stuck well, and many of the garlic and ginger pieces were stuck to the outside of the chicken for a good long time allowing it to soak up the flavor as it cooked.

As you can see in the picture, the glaze stuck to the grill grates as well; the excess that dripped down into the bottom of the grill actually solidified and stuck my lower vent to the inside of the bowl. Once a fresh batch of coals were dropped in the next day it freed up again as the honey warmed up.

Before going outside I set up my steamer to cook some sushi rice to go with the chicken, but ran out of time for a vegetable. Oh well, something to remember for next time.
















After plating the chicken I put little drips of Sriracha all over, and piled the rice up to the side. The honey, lime and chili flavors work well together, I can't wait to make this again. Never be afraid of fresh ginger, no matter how ugly it looks.

Sometimes the best recipes are the ones you make up as you go along...