You are here: HomeRecipesPoultryThai Inspired Grilled Chicken Thighs
I love chicken off the grill.  I also love using the boneless skinless thighs for all kinds of dishes.   Here is a ThaiThai Grilled Chicken Thighs marinade for chicken that works really well.  You can use it for breasts if you prefer white meat.  Just be sure that you pound the breasts down a bit to make them an even thickness so that they will cook properly and not dry out.


Thai marinade:

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 small bunch fresh cilantro
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 T minced fresh garlic (more if you love garlic)
2 T Sambal  (or any Thai style chili paste)
2 T Tamari   (or soy sauce)
2 T Olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 T brown sugar


Use a stick blender or your regular blender to make this into a slurry.
Put the chicken in a gallon zip lock with the marinade and massage it well to coat everything.  Let the chicken marinate for at least 3 hours.

Prepare your grill,  you want it to be screaming hot.   Put on the chicken and turn the grill down to med-low.   If you are using a charcoal grill or wood, put the chicken over the hottest part of the fire first.    Then move it to the cooler side of the grill to finish.

Let it go 5 minutes on one side, turn the thighs over and let them go another 5 minutes.
Thighs don't take very long because they are small and not very thick and I don't  want to overcook them to dry.

If you are using breasts, 4-5 minutes on each side is plenty if you have made the breasts an even thickness.   Don't overcook, breasts will dry out quickly if you leave them on any longer than that.

These are really good served with a Satay style peanut sauce.