Thai Grilled Chicken Thighs
Thai Herb-Marinated Grilled Chicken Thighs
Fresh herbs and funky fish sauce create a marinade that penetrates deep into chicken thighs, delivering bold Thai flavors with every bite. The longer marination pays dividends when these hit the grill — you get juicy meat with a beautifully caramelized exterior.
ThaiAsianDinnerGluten FreeDairy FreeHigh ProteinMeal PrepGrillingChicken
Ingredients
- 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ⅓ cupfresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cupfresh cilantro, stems and leaves chopped
- 1 tbspfresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 tbspgarlic cloves, minced fine
- 1 tbspfresh red chili (Thai bird's eye or jalapeño), minced
- 1½ tbspsoy sauce
- 1½ tbspfish sauce
- 1½ tbspolive oil
- 1½ tbspbrown sugar, packed
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the basil, cilantro, ginger, garlic, chili, soy sauce, fish sauce, olive oil, and brown sugar until well combined. The mixture should smell fragrant and look like a chunky green paste.
- Give everything another thorough stir to make sure the sugar dissolves completely and the herbs are evenly distributed throughout the marinade. You want every piece of chicken to get maximum flavor coverage.
- Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and use your hands to coat each piece thoroughly with the marinade, working it into all the crevices. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, though 3-4 hours will give you even more intense flavor.⏱ 1 hr
- Heat your grill to medium-high heat and cook the chicken thighs for 6-8 minutes per side, until they're golden brown with nice grill marks and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. The sugars in the marinade will caramelize beautifully, so watch for flare-ups and move pieces as needed.