Grilled Thai Chicken

Saturday our friends Lisa, Doug & Briana came over for dinner and some play time and I had fun making a meal out of all new-to-me recipes.  I mentioned over on my Moments with Maisie blog that I would post all the recipes as everything was delicious.  One of the dishes that I served was a Thai Cucumber Salad which I adored and posted previously and today I’m posting another recipe, Grilled Thai Chicken.  The interesting thing about these recipes is that both were inspired by recipes I found on Roz’s blog la bella vita.  Roz posted a delicious looking recipe for Grilled Thai Chicken and within that post she had a picture of her Thai Cucumber Salad  and she mentioned that the recipes would pair beautifully but that her husband’s stomach couldn’t take cucumbers.  I decided to test it out and I can wholeheartedly say that the chicken and cucumbers go together perfectly, a gorgeous match. 

Even though the chicken marinates in a wonderful sauce which contains very spicy Thai red chilies, once the chicken is cooked there is almost no heat at all, just wonderful flavor.  I think that the pairing of the Grilled Thai Chicken and the Thai Cucumber Salad is so wonderful because there is a similar flavor combination to both but the chicken is mild and served temperature hot while the cucumber salad is served cold but is spicy hot.  Whatever the reason, these two items on your plate makes for delicious dining.

 Grilled Thai Chicken (adapted from here)

• 1 - 14 oz. can lite coconut milk 
• 1/2 cup nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
• zest & juice of 4 fresh limes
• 6 large cloves garlic
• 2 small red onions, peeled and diced
• 2 Thai red chilies (leave the seeds in for heat or remove them for less heat)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Whey Low Gold (or palm sugar or brown sugar)
• 1/2 large bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 8 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 scallions, trimmed and minced, for garnish or Thai basil
• 1 fresh lime, cut in wedges for garnish

Combine the coconut milk, nam pla, lime zest & juice, garlic, onions, Thai red chilies, Whey Low Gold, cilantro and black pepper in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. 

Pour the coconut mixture into a large Ziplock bag and  add the chicken.  Allow it to marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, or two days as I did. 

Prepare a gas or charcoal grill.  When the temperature is medium-hot, remove the chicken from the bag and discard the marinade. Place the chicken on the grill; cover and cook for about 8 minutes on one side. Turn the chicken over and cook another 8 - 10 minutes, or until cooked through but still juicy and moist.  Transfer the chicken to a platter and if you have your act together better than I did, garnish with the scallions or Thai basil and serve with a beautiful wedge of lime on the side.

Enjoy!