Lemongrass and turmeric chicken

Regular readers will probably remember the grilled chicken clipped in split bamboo that we enjoyed at Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. I’ve always meant to replicate it at home so I’ve been busy trying to deconstruct the ingredients. I think I’ve hit the right combination for the marinade. After marinating the chicken, you can grill it, broil it or even deep fry it.

Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 k. of chicken thighs and drumsticks (or chicken leg quarters)
1 c. of tamarind juice (see how to extract tamarind juice)
3 pcs. of turmeric (yellow ginger)
1 heaping tbsp. of crushed galangal
3 to 4 stalks of lemongrass (see how to prepare lemongrass)
2 to 3 cloves of garlic
1 onion or 2 shallots
about 1/2 c. of patis (fish sauce), or to taste

To garnish:

finely sliced onion leaves
chili flakes

Crush the garlic, shake off the skin and chop.

Peel the turmeric and onion and roughly chop. Remove the tough outer layers of the lemongrass and cut into small pieces.

Strain the tamarind juice.

Stir together the tamarind juice and fish sauce.

Pour the tamarind juice and fish sauce into the blender. Add the lemongrass, onion, garlic, turmeric and galangal plus 6 pieces of bird”�s eye chili (siling labuyo). Pulse the blender a couple of times then set the speed to high to finely process all the ingredients.

Place the chicken in a container. Pour in the marinade. Keep the chicken pieces in a single layer so that each one gets submerged in the marinade. Work the marinade into the chicken meat, moving each piece to make sure that every inch of the surface is covered. Seal the container and marinate the chicken in the fridge overnight.

You can grill, broil or fry the chicken.

To serve, sprinkle with onion leaves and chili flakes. The chicken may also be accompanied by sweet chili sauce on the side for dipping.