Thai Tamarind Chicken Recipes

CHICKEN PAD THAI

Steps:

• For the noodles: Cook the noodles according to the package instructions.
• For the sauce: Stir together the fish sauce, brown sugar, tamarind, sriracha and lime juice in a small bowl until well combined.
• For the stir fry: Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Push the tofu to the side, allowing the excess oil to drip down into the middle of the skillet. Add the chicken and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is opaque and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Push to the side with the tofu, allowing the excess oil to drip down into the middle of the skillet. Add the beaten egg to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally and chopping to break up, until cooked through, about 30 seconds. Push the egg to the side with the tofu and chicken. Add the peppers to the skillet and cook just to soften slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the noodles, bean sprouts, scallions and sauce to the skillet. Combine the tofu, chicken and egg into the ingredients and stir fry, coating the ingredients with the sauce, and simmer to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Pile the stir fry onto a serving plate and top with chopped peanuts and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

CLASSIC CHICKEN PAD THAI

Steps:

• Soak rice noodles in a bowl of water for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and tamarind paste in a bowl. Whisk well and set aside.
• Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add tofu. Cook chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 4 minutes.
• Add garlic and shrimp paste to the wok and stir well. Cook for 2 minutes, then add fish sauce mixture and drained noodles. Cook until the noodles are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Push noodles to one side of the wok. Crack the eggs into the other side. Scramble until firm, about 3 minutes. Stir into the noodles. Serve with peanuts, bean sprouts, and lime wedges.

THAI GRILLED CHICKEN (GAI YANG)

Steps:

• Add the lemongrass, cilantro (coriander), shallots, and garlic to a mortar and pestle, and pound until pulverized. You can also use a food processor for this step.
• Add the oil, sugar, salt, black pepper, Thai soy sauces, fish sauce and turmeric (if using). Mix until well-combined.
• You can butterfly or spatchcock your chicken for grilling like it's done on the streets of Thailand. However, I cut the chicken into individual pieces to ensure they'd cook properly. This way, I can pull each piece off the grill once cooked. Rub the chicken with the marinade paste, ensuring every piece is thoroughly coated. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight (or at least 12 hours).
• The next day, take the chicken out 1 to 2 hours before you're ready to grill.
• In a small bowl, mix the sugar and hot water until the sugar is dissolved. Mix in the rest of the sauce ingredients and set aside.
• Place the chicken on the grill, and use any remaining marinade to baste the chicken while grilling. Leave the marinade paste on the chicken, including any chunks of herbs as they will caramelize and add flavor. Turn and baste the chicken often to create a nice flavorful outer crust. Baste the chicken with the leftover marinade in the first half of the grilling process, but do not do this towards the end of cooking. The raw chicken marinade needs enough time to fully cook.
• Serve immediately with some coconut rice, your nam jim jeaw sauce, and lime wedges!

THAI TAMARIND CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix soy sauce and flour together in a large bowl until blended. Add chicken and mix until coated.
• Mix water, fish sauce, brown sugar, and tamarind paste together in a bowl.
• Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic, chile pepper, and ginger and fry for 1 to 3 minutes. Remove chicken from the marinade and add to the wok; stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 the tamarind sauce mixture to the wok and continue stir-frying until liquid dries up. Add remaining sauce and cook until chicken is no longer pink inside and sauce is thickened to desired consistency, 10 to 15 minutes more.

GRILLED TAMARIND AND ORANGE GLAZED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Whisk olive oil, herbes de Provence, garlic, salt, and black pepper in a bowl; place chicken in marinade and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 6 hours, turning chicken occasionally in marinade.
• Whisk chicken broth, orange juice, sugar, orange zest, butter, tamarind paste, and ginger in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook at a vigorous boil, whisking often, until mixture has reduced to about 3/4 cup and glaze coats the back of a spoon, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chile-garlic sauce; season tamarind glaze with salt and black pepper.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. Spray a grill pan with cooking spray. Pour about 3 tablespoons tamarind glaze into a small bowl for basting and set aside.
• Place chicken breasts onto preheated grill; discard used marinade. Grill chicken until browned, the meat is no longer pink inside, and the juices run clear, about 4 minutes per side, basting with reserved tamarind glaze. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Transfer chicken to a serving plate and serve with remaining tamarind glaze poured on top.

COCONUT & TAMARIND CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• Put the chicken in a big mixing bowl, add the lime juice, pepper and turmeric, and mix well. (It's best to use gloves for this as the turmeric stains fingers.) Set aside for 1 hr.
• Make the sauce. Heat the oil in a big pan, toss in the mustard seeds followed by the fresh curry leaves (if you are using dried leaves, add them later with the tomatoes) and fry until it releases a warm, nutty aroma - about 30 secs.
• Add the onions, put on the lid, and cook over a low heat for 10-15 mins until meltingly soft, stirring now and then. Take the lid off, turn up the heat, add the garlic and ginger, and fry for 1 min until it gives off a toasty aroma. Stir in the paprika and continue cooking for another 30 secs.
• Add the tomatoes, stock and sugar (and dried curry leaves if using). Cook, uncovered, for 15-20 mins until the sauce has thickened and reduced by one-third.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Meanwhile, fry the chicken. Heat 6 tbsp oil in a frying pan and cook in batches until golden. You may need a little extra oil. Keep warm.
• Pour any excess oil from the frying pan and add a ladleful of water - swirl it around and scrape up any juices with a spoon before adding to the tomato sauce.
• Put the chicken in a deep roasting tin or ovenproof casserole and pour over the sauce. Cover with foil and oven cook for 15 mins until the chicken is tender. Skim off any oil from the top of the sauce.
• Take the chicken pieces out of the tin and transfer to a serving dish. Pour the sauce into a pan and bring to a simmer. Stir in the tamarind pulp, coconut milk and half the coconut cream. Adjust the flavour by adding more sugar or tamarind. Ladle the sauce over the chicken, drizzle with the remaining coconut cream, and scatter with coriander before serving.