Recipe courtesy of David Thompson
Gai Yang: Grilled Chicken
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 4 servings
- Total: 35 min
- Prep: 5 min
- Cook: 30 min
Ingredients
Chicken:
3 coriander roots, scraped and chopped
Pinch salt
4 garlic cloves, peeled
10 white peppercorns
2 small chickens, about 12 ounces - Poussin or Cornish game hens
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Large pinch palm sugar
Sauce:
1/4 cup scraped and chopped coriander root
Salt
1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup long red chiles, deseeded if desired
2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 cups water
Directions
- Using a pestle and mortar, pound coriander roots, salt, garlic, and peppercorns into a fine paste. Cut chicken in half along the breastbone. Flatten out, wash and dry. Work in the paste, fish sauce and sugar and leave to marinate for a few hours.
- For the sweet chili sauce, pound coriander root, salt, garlic and chiles into a paste. Combine vinegar, sugar, water, and salt in a pot and bring to the boil. Add paste and stir to dissolve. Simmer sauce until reduced by half, skimming as necessary, then set aside to cool.
- Chargrill chicken for about 15-20 minutes, turning regularly. Serve with a bowl of the sauce.