We all have a mental picture of American Thai food: It’s either some sort of stir-fried rice or noodle, maybe a curry, and while there’s a nod towards the idea of “all five flavors” being balanced, the general result is, well, “bland with peanuts” or “incredibly freaking hot, with peanuts”. But surely that’s not all, is it? I mean, what about…
…Roast chicken?
I mean, you may not see it on menus here in the states, but surely the concept of “put a whole bird over a fire” is rather ubiquitous. So let’s see how they might do it in Thailand.
(This recipe, and more or less any other Thai recipe on this blog, is from Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok, which is as close as I can get to knowing how they’d do it in Thailand.)
Anyway, let’s get to it. We need a brine. We’ll take sugar, and pound garlic (sure, leave the skins on), ginger, lemongrass, and white peppercorns together, then throw it all into a bucket with cilantro stems and roots, green onion, and top it off with water.
We’re going to use Cornish game hens. Completely submerge in the brine, and let sit overnight.
Remove, and stand it up on a rack so it can drain. Place, uncovered, in the fridge for a few hours so it can dry out (OMG. RAW CHICKEN EXPOSED IN THE FRIDGE. CALL THE AUTHORITIES.)
For the stuffing, we’re going to smash more lemongrass, garlic, and cilantro stems together. Fill the birds, and stand them up in a container.
Make a marinade using fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, and a bit of water. Brush all over the birds, and let it sit for a couple of hours more. Hey, no one said this would be quick. Halfway through, flip birds over and re-apply marinade.
Fire up the grill, and using indirect heat, grill the birds for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. In the last five or ten minutes, baste with a combination of honey, shallot oil, and water. Flip birds more often in the last part of cooking to get the skin brown.
For a dipping sauce, combine sugar, water, vinegar, and Thai chilies. Cook until slightly syrupy. Congrats, you just made the ubiquitous hot and sweet dipping sauce.
Chop the bird into pieces, and serve with the stuffing and dipping sauce. Some sticky rice would compliment the stuffing, as well.
It’s worth the wait.
