Sweet Thai Chili Chicken

ThaiChiliChickenPlatebfLOI LOVE it when a recipe turns out to be flexible!

I’ve been following (more or less) Nigella Lawson’s recipe for buttermilk marinated chicken for, what seems like, EVER! I’ve used it on spatchcocked whole chickens before roasting, bone-in parts before VigoCurryRicebfLObreading and oven-frying, and on boneless, skinless bits immediately prior to giving them a good WHACK! with the meat mallet and popping ‘em on the indoor grill.

Tasty.

But, I was thinking…

We really like Vigo’s yellow rice with a bit of Masman Curry Paste dropped into the rice cooker along with the rice packet and some butter or olive oil before setting it to cook – that hit of additional spice and lemon grass is, simply, lovely.

SweetChiliSaucebfLONow, what can I do to some chicken that’ll complement the curried rice?

Enter my trusty buttermilk marinade.

By swapping out a few simple ingredients, I was able to give the chicken a spicy-sweet Asian chili flavor with overtones of citrus that paired perfectly with our augmented rice packet.

INGREDIENTS
•3 or 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
•2 cups buttermilk
•1/2 cup vegetable oil
•2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
•1/2 cup sweet chili sauce – you may recall that I scored a MAJOR deal on a bunch of this at the most recent European Imports Sale
•1/2 cup oil
•2 tsp Caribbean Calypso Seasoning
•1 tsp chives

Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, chili sauce, and seasonings, then pour over the chicken in a large zippered storage bag.

Squish it all around a bit to really coat the chicken, then stash the whole thing in a shallow bowl (to catch any leaks) in the fridge for several hours, or (best) overnight.

Once you have the rice maker set to cook, drain and discard the marinade, and return the chicken breasts to the zipper bag. Flatten the chicken in the bag into paillards with the flat side of your meat mallet (doing this with the chicken in the bag helps to keep you from having to hunt down errant bits o’ chicken or buttermilk marinade that may, ermmm, fly away in the process of whacking).ThaiChiliButtermilkChickenbfLO

Brush your grill with a bit of olive oil and add the chicken paillards. Grill for three to five minutes per side until the chicken is cooked through.

Nice.

Rich thinks that a peanut dipping sauce would’ve been the icing on the cake, but, really, he thinks that just about anything goes better with peanut butter.

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