Gai yang (chargrilled marinated chicken)

“Sujet Saenkham owns four great Thai restaurants in Sydney, all with food inspired by Sujet’s beloved mother, Taeng-on, who taught him to cook at an early age.” Maeve O’Meara, Food Safari Fire

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 30 g lemongrass
• 2 French shallots
• 2 tsp coriander roots
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 3 tsp palm sugar (jaggery)
• 1½ tsp fish sauce
• 1½ tsp oyster sauce
• 1½ tsp Thai seasoning soy sauce
• 1½ tsp light soy sauce
• 50 ml vegetable oil
• 1 size 12 chicken, butterflied

Nam jim jaew ma kham piek (tamarind jim jaew dipping sauce)

• 90 g (⅓ cup) tamarind purée
• 80 g palm sugar (jaggery)
• 50 ml fish sauce
• 3 tbsp boiling water
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp roasted rice powder

Marinating time 30 minutes or overnight

Instructions

Combine the lemongrass, shallots, coriander roots, black peppercorns, garlic, and half the turmeric and coriander powders in a mortar and pestle and pound to a coarse paste.

Remove from the pestle and set aside.

Combine the palm sugar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, Thai seasoning soy sauce and light soy sauce with the remaining coriander and turmeric powders and the vegetable oil, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Combine with the spice paste and rub into the chicken to coat well.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (preferably up to 12 hours) for the flavours to develop.

To make the dipping sauce, combine the tamarind purée, palm sugar, fish sauce and water in a saucepan. Turn the heat to low, bring to the boil, then set aside to let it cool before mixing in the chilli powder and roasted rice powder. Set aside.

Preheat the charcoal grill until you have coals. Brush off the excess marinade on the chicken and cook on the charcoal grill skin-side up to start. Turn occasionally until all sides are lightly charred and the chicken is cooked through.

Alternatively, cook in a preheated 180°C oven for 40–45 minutes or until browned and cooked through.

Remove and rest the chicken, lightly covered, for 10 minutes, then carve and serve with Thai sweet chilli sauce and Nam jim jaew ma kham piek dipping sauce.

Recipe from Food Safari Fire by Maeve O'Meara (Hardie Grant, hbk, $55).  Photography by Kaily Koutsogiannis.

Food Safari Fire starts Thursday 7 January 2016 at 8pm on SBS. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.