Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
Equipment: 8 bamboo skewers soaked in water at least 1 hour.
Ingredient Information: Hot chili paste is available at Asian markets and many supermarkets.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)
1/4 cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuo nam)
1/4 cup Sriracha
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger
1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2″-2″ pieces
METHOD
1 Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Whisk brown sugar, vinegar, chili paste, fish sauce, Sriracha, and ginger in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Thread 4 or 5 chicken pieces onto each skewer.
2 Transfer marinade to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half (about 1 cup), 7-10 minutes.
3 Grill chicken, turning and basting often with reduced marinade, until cooked through, 8-10 minutes.
COOK’S NOTES
1 Look for sambal oelek and sriracha in the Asian section of grocery stores.
2 If you prefer it to be less spicy, leave out some of the sambal oelek. The sriracha isn’t as spicy.
3 Remember to soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least an hour before skewering the chicken and grilling. This helps prevent the skewers from burning or catching fire.
4 I also made this with metal skewers with great results. They cooked a bit faster.
5 Really bring the remaining marinade to a good boil for a few minutes before basting the skewers again. We let it get nice and thick and served it alongside.
6 These skewers were great served up with sticky rice and grilled zucchini from the garden.
7 It’s not listed in the recipe, but I topped mine with cilantro, Thai basil and mint leaves. The fresh flavor of the herbs was great with the spicy sauce.
The Carousel thanks Bon Appetit; July 2013 for this recipe.