michelle picker cooks

Two tasty Thai style chicken recipes for the BBQ.

These chicken legs, from RecipeTinEats, are great served with with a green papaya salad. Add Thai chilli sauce for extra spice.

For the marinade combine 4 cloves of finely minced garlic, 10 teaspoons of oyster sauce, 8 teaspoons of fish sauce, ¼ of a cup of dark brown sugar, 4 teaspoons of ground turmeric and 1 teaspoon of ground white pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat well. Allow to marinate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. For the best result cook over coals – other BBQs will also work as will oven baking. If cooking over coals, cook away from direct heat for 40 minutes or so until the skin is browned and the chicken is cooked through. If you have a thermometer the internal temperature should be 75ºC (165°F).

Complex and delicious, these chicken patties are good on buns or with salad. Use plenty of fresh herbs.

In a small blender process 6-8 coriander roots, 2 large cloves of garlic and a similar amount of fresh ginger. When they’re finely diced add 100g (3½ oz) of chicken mince and process to a fine paste. In a bowl combine the paste with another 400g (14 oz) of chicken mince, 4 finely chopped thai chillies, 4 very finely sliced spring onions (scallions), 4 teaspoons of rice flour, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of white pepper, salt to taste and 8 teaspoons of roasted rice powder (Khao Khua). If you don’t have roasted rice powder in your pantry, you can make it following this recipe from Serious Eats. Mix well to combine. Cut 6 squares of baking paper, place them on a flat tray and spread a little oil on each piece. Now, with wet hands, shape the chicken mix into 6 evenly sized patties placing each on a sheet of paper. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to cook. Cooking over coals is ideal but you can cook them on a BBQ or in a pan if you prefer. Drizzle a little oil onto the top of each patty and flip them onto the hot cooking surface. Carefully peel off the paper and cook over medium heat, turning halfway through, until cooked. They should be nicely browned and the internal temperature should be 75ºC (165°F).