This Thai Chicken recipe is an easy way to make Gai Yang at home, Thailand’s famous barbecue chicken. It uses a fragrant Thai marinade that delivers street-stall delicious – without pounding pastes, lighting coals or wrestling a whole chicken! Serve with Coconut Rice and swoon.
Traditional Thai Chicken
If you’ve ever travelled through Thailand, you’ll know exactly what Gai Yang is and why I’m obsessed with it – smoky, savoury, aromatic Thai BBQ chicken sold by street vendors who churn out perfect chargrilled chicken all day long. It’s the kind of food that makes normally civilised humans revert to full caveman mode. Oh yes, you can totally picture me right??! Fred Flinstone would approve! 😀
Traditionally, whole butterflied chickens are marinated in a fragrant paste made by pounding ingredients like lemongrass and garlic with a mortar and pestle, then grilled slowly over charcoal until bronzed and juicy.
I wanted to recreate the flavour of authentic Gai Yang to make it more home-cook friendly. So I use boneless thighs, a stick blender for the marinade and cook it on the BBQ or stove. Simplifying street foods in this way can fall short – but for Gai Yang, the marinade is so good, it works great!
Ingredients in Marinated Thai Chicken – Gai Yang
My rule of thumb when cooking foods on a BBQ or stove rather than smoky charcoal is to dial up the marinade flavours to compensate for the absence of smoky flavour. That’s exactly what I’ve done here. 🙂
Boneless chicken thighs – Traditional Gai Yang in Thailand calls for cutting up a whole chicken and cooking it with the skin-on and bone-in. The best alternative cut that is easier to cook for juicy, flavour-packed Gai Yang is boneless chicken thighs. They stay tender, absorb marinade brilliantly and get those gorgeous caramelised edges!
Chicken breast and chicken tenders can be used too – the marinade helps retain juiciness inside. For breast, I’d either split them in half horizontally or pound to even thickness so they cook through more evenly, else the thinner end gets overcooked. I’ve popped directions in the recipe notes.
Lemongrass – A signature flavour of Gai Yang that is so distinctly South East Asian! It has an earthy lemon flavour and it is what makes this chicken special and sets it apart from just another soy-sauce-sugar marinade!
Tube paste option – I haven’t tried it for this recipe, but I’d probably use around 1 tablespoon as the flavour is much milder than using fresh lemongrass, especially as we blitz it in this recipe which releases a lot of flavour.
Garlic – Essential for building that classic Thai savoury base.
Fish sauce – Salty, savoury, and more flavour than soy. The smelly fishy flavour is gone once cooked! This is what makes it taste properly Thai.
Light AND dark soy sauce – I use soy sauce to add more salt into the marinade because using just fish sauce can be a bit too fishy. The dark soy sauce gives the chicken a beautiful bronzed finish while the light soy sauce adds the salt without darkening the chicken too much. Dark soy also has a much more intense soy sauce flavour so you need to use with restraint!
Substitutions – You can substitute: light soy with any all-purpose soy sauce or tamari, and the dark soy sauce with more light soy. But you cannot substitute the light soy sauce with dark soy because it is so intense, it will overwhelm the other flavours! More on different soy sauces here.Brown sugar – Balances the salty elements and helps the chicken caramelise for sticky, charry edges.
How to make Gai Yang – Thai Chicken (grilled or stove)
As mentioned above, I wanted to make Gai Yang more home-kitchen friendly, so I use a stick blender rather than mortar and pestle for the marinade, and cook it on the BBQ or stove. I particularly like using the BBQ because you get a bit of the street-food reminiscent smoky flavour, plus it’s easier to cook the entire batch in one go. Great for summer gatherings!
Blitz sliced lemongrass, whole garlic cloves and all the other marinade ingredients into a jug large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until the lemongrass is pulverised into tiny bits (lemongrass is quite tough, not pleasant to bite into large chunks).
No stick blender? No worries! Just grate the lemongrass and garlic finely then mix it into the soy sauce etc by hand.
Marinate the chicken in the marinade overnight. 24 hours is best, to really get the flavours all through the meat. Absolute bare minimum is 3 hours.
No time to marinate? Slice up the chicken into bite-size strips, toss in the sauce then pan fry it. You could toss in some vegetables and make a stir-fry. 🙂
Cook the chicken in a pan or a BBQ on medium heat for about 5 to 6 minutes on each side until gorgeous bronzed with charred edges. (I use the grill side of the BBQ, not flat iron, it works better). Because of the sugar and dark soy in the marinade, the surface can burn very quickly so what I like to do is preheat the pan / BBQ on high, then I lower the heat to medium once I put the chicken on.
No oil – You shouldn’t need any oil if your BBQ is well greased or if you use a non-stick pan because the marinade has oil in it, and we’re using thighs which has some fat in it.
Burning? Flip multiple times rather than just once, oh, and lower the heat! 🙂
Rest the chicken for 3 to 5 minutes before serving. I just pile it straight onto the serving plate and leave it. If cooking in batches, loosely tent with foil to keep them warm and pile on top of each other.
Never skip resting! This step allows the juices to be re-absorbed into the meat fibres so they don’t spill out onto the plate when you cut into it.
What to serve with Gai Yang
Sauce – Traditionally, Gai Yang is served with a sauce called Nam Jim Jaew which is made with fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and finely chopped garlic, chillies, eschalots and green onion. You can dip pieces in or spoon it over the chicken so it also flavours the rice.
For a quicker sauce, you could also use the Sweet Chilli Sauce from the Thai Sweet Chilli Beef Bowls (similar flavours, no need to chop anything) or even just plonk a bottle of sweet chilli sauce on the table. 🙂
As for sides, serve with Jasmine rice, or even better, coconut rice! (PS If you’ve never been able to make coconut rice without it ending up a gluey mess or burning, you will love that recipe – my team and I worked so hard to crack the perfect coconut rice!).
Add a side of freshness with some raw slices or chunks of cucumber and tomato, Thai-style. No dressing, just plain. It sounds boring, but because the meat is so flavourful and juicy, the freshness really works. You will crave it! Else, if you’re after a salad, try an Asian Slaw, Vermicelli Noodle Salad (the fresh mint here really works) or the Thai Chicken Salad minus chicken plus extra veg.
Fall back option – Asian Sesame Dressing (4 ingredients, pour and shake) with any leafy greens or steamed vegetables (lettuce, cabbage, tomato, steamed broccoli, zucchini, peas, asparagus – it works with everything!).
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)
Ingredients
- 2 lb / 1 kg chicken thigh fillets (skinless, boneless) (Note 1)
Marinade
- 1 large lemongrass stalk , white part only, reedy outer layers removed, sliced 5mm / 1/5" thick (Note 2 tube paste sub)
- 4 cloves garlic , peeled (whole)
- 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce , or any all-purpose soy or tamari (Note 3)
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 3)
- 3 tbsp (tightly packed) brown sugar or palm sugar
- 2 tbsp oil , vegetable, canola, or any other neutral flavoured oil
Sauce options *optional*- CHOOSE ONE
- Nam Jim Jaew – traditional Thai Dipping Sauce for meat *RECOMMENDED*
- Lime Sweet Chilli Sauce from Thai Beef Bowls recipe (quick to make)
- Bottle of sweet chilli sauce
Garnishes / sides
- Lime wedges
- Red chili , finely sliced (optional)
- Cilantro / coriander leaves (optional)
- Coconut rice
Instructions
- Blitz – Place Marinade ingredients EXCEPT oil in a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until lemongrass and garlic is fully pureed. (No stick blender? Finely grate lemongrass and garlic, then mix)
- Marinate – Pour in a bowl. Add oil, stir. Add chicken, toss to thoroughly coat. Cover and marinate overnight (my bare minimum is 3 hours). No marinating time? Finely slice, toss in marinade then cook like a stir-fry.
- Heat the outdoor BBQ grill on high or a non stick pan over high heat on the stove.
- Cook – Remove chicken from the Marinade and discard the Marinade (unless baking in the oven – refer Note 3). Put chicken on the BBQ or in the pan, then turn heat down to medium (sweet marinade = prone to burning). Cook the chicken until golden brown – around 5 to 6 minutes on each side. (If it burns, flip straight away. You can flip repeatedly, as needed.)
- Rest and serve – Rest for 3 minutes. Serve alongside a mound of steamy coconut rice with lime wedges, garnished with fresh chilies and coriander/cilantro, and your chosen sauce.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published 2015. Updated in 2025 with improved marinade, sparkling new photos, a recipe video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added! I updated the marinade to reduce the number of ingredients but still deliver the same quality flavour – for example, I removed honey and increased sugar slightly. I removed Chinese cooking wine because it’s not traditionally used in Gai Yang, and I didn’t feel the recipe was lacking when I took it out. And finally, I reverted to using a stick blender which is not only faster than finely minced lemongrass and garlic, but also extracts more flavour out of the lemongrass.
Life of Dozer
Dozer had his Story Time Spectacular on the weekend, to celebrate the launch of Row Row Row your Boat (with Monsters!)! This is the children’s book featuring Dozer which is raising money for One Meal, the food relief charity that distributes our RecipeTin Meals to those in need.
There was a run sheet and schedule and scripts, we did rehearsals and all knew our roles.
Does it surprise anyone that nothing went to plan?? 😂 “Never work with children or dogs,” they said! Meanwhile, I spent 80% of the time stroking Dozer’s head trying to keep him calm as he barked persistently, irritated he was trapped in the row boat rather than waddling around the stage like the star he thinks he should have been.🤣
He became particularly bark-y when children were brought up on stage to join in the interactive reading part!
And here’s the author, Adam Simpson. He’s actually my company lawyer – that’s the connection! Is your lawyer as fun as mine?? 🤣 Adam wrote the book and is donating all his royalties to One Meal.
Dozer and I also treated the kids to some Dozer cookies! These were made by Claudia from Monogram Cookies. I’ve used her a few times now, it’s such a great way to do an edible thank-you gift for large numbers and be able to customise it with a message, or branding etc. and I think it’s very good value for what you get. Plus she’s local to my area (Drummoyne – though services all of Sydney), makes the whole process seamless and is such a lovely person to work with. I’m going to use her for some Christmas cookies for gifting too!
It was a big day for Mr Dozer! He’s spent the last couple of days slothing – and he deserves it. He’s an old creaky boy now (almost 14!) and technically in retirement, but was happy to come out of retirement for this good cause!
PS In case you didn’t pick it, the vehicle below is a row boat! Dozer was tucked in with Madeline, the daughter of the author Adam.
Love you Dozer! Sharing these experiences with you is so special, especially in your golden years. You make everything more fun! – N x
Nagi,
You spoke to ME with this recipe. I just installed thew rotisserie on my grill which arrived a year ago.
Thai is my new favorite food. I happen to have the lemon grass in the fridge and the coconut milk the the cupboard, so I am on my way to nirvana.
Oooh! See, it’s meant to BE! 🙂
This was amazing on the grill. I made some jasmine rice and substituted coconut milk for part of the water. My local Safeway sells lemongrass in a tube, so very easy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Jen!!! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know! N x
We just had this for the 4th of July and it was phenomenal!!! A true home run – I would give it more star if I could! It was super juicy, tender, and the flavors were just out of this world. And it was SO easy to make! This will be on regular rotation from now on.
You did?? SHRIEK! I am SO HONOURED!!!! ?
Looks delicious! What did you serve as a side dish that is pictured with this chicken??
Hi Stephanie! That’s just finely shredded cabbage 🙂 It’s actually quite common in Asian cuisines to serve plain finely shredded cabbage as a side salad with juicy things like this Grilled Chicken!
Finely chopped red chili? Is this any particular type of chili pepper? If I do not have that on hand, can I substitute anything for it?
Hi Beth! Actually any chilli will work just fine – just something add a bit of spice kick!!!
I think you are my sister on another continent! Every recipe I’ve tried is So delicious & the flavors are so me! (Me being a Japanese-Italian who grew up in California and somehow ended up in North Carolina.) Anyhoo, my MIL said that she’d never had Thai food, which made me gasp & clutch the pearls!! How could this be?!? So I made this for her over the weekend, which was a bit of a gamble because her husband is very much a meat-&-potatoes guy (they are from western NY but we moved them down here about 3 years ago) who doesn’t like anything “weird.” Marinated this overnight, baked it for 25 min in the oven, then finished it on the grill. RAVE reviews. My MIL’s ultimate compliment ; “I think I want this for my birthday dinner” — her birthday isn’t until August! LOVED the flavors in this — served with jasmine rice & cucumber salad. I’ll definitely be making this again — a few times before August!
BA HA HA! You totally cracked me up with this message – you are hilarious! And I’m jealous – Japanese Italian?? What a combo!!! ? And that really is the ULTIMATE compliment from your MIL….quite far from meat & 3 veg!!!
Your reply had me laughing out loud! Especially the vision of clutching your pearls!
🥰🙏
Nagi, thank you for such a wonderful recipe! Quick question, if I want to prep some chicken and marinade and then freeze for another time, should I omit the lime juice and add when thawed? I’m worried the lime juice might “cook” the chicken.
Hi Michelle! Nope, add the lime right in there! There is not enough to cook the chicken 🙂 You were right to ask though!
What a fast for the eyes and taste buds Absolutely beautiful. I only have one complaint about your web site. I Iove it so much I could spend a whole morning looking at your recipes and not get anything done. Your pictures are beyond beautiful and the recipes satisfy the taste buds. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and recipes.
BA HA HA!! Sorry for ruining your productivity for the morning!!! 🙂
Nagi, can I use mirin instead of sake? I want to make this dish for the weekend, I love Thai food (so does my son), but I have yet to find an Asian recipe my husband will enjoy. Poor guy eats them but not with any joy. This might do it…. He hates coconut milk, he thinks peanut is for desserts only and anything with s hint of sweet “can’t be dinner” according to him. On the plus side the Salisbury steaks were a huge hit:-)
Hi Beatrice! For this YES you can use mirin instead of sake! Fingers crossed your hubby enjoys this….. 😉
LMAO!!!
Hi Nagi,
I made this for the first time tonight and also the southern Thai turmeric chicken (for the 6th time). My only problem is I now can’t decide what to save (hide) for tomorrow’s lunch?
Loved this! Another recipe to be stuck on my fridge. If only you could see my fridge, it’s mostly covered with recipes from here!!! That’s prime real estate in the cooking world at my place 😉
I’ve got a foolish grin plastered across my face at the thought of my recipes stuck on your fridge. That IS an honour!!!
Made this for my 7 guests on the weekend and it was a huge hit! So much so I’ve had to succumb to pressure give up your web site! I was sort of keeping you to myself (sorry!!) but this chicken was so yummy I thought it was about time my friends knew were all my new recipes were coming from! This is so easy to make & super yummy it’s now on the rotation!
Thanks Nagi keep the recipes coming.
Cheers
Vikki
BA HA HA! I love that, keep me a secret! 🙂 Feel free to take credit for my recipes – let your friends think they’re YOURS!!! 🙂
Made this today for Sunday lunch. We had it with roast potatoes and steamed veg. Awesome!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I made it for my boyfriend and he got teary eyed because it was so good. There are no leftovers and now he asked me to do more tomorrow. It was raining so I had to put it into oven but I guess it might have been a good thing since I had accidentally purchased chicken thighs with bones. Can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Hi Joanna! I’m SO glad you AND your boyfriend enjoyed this so much!! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know. And don’t let your man suffer, make some more for him asap!!! PS Putting bone in thighs in the oven is perfect 🙂 And stove top for thigh fillets works just as well as the BBQ!
This looks absolutely delicious. Thai Chicken Soup was my introduction to lemongrass and I really enjoyed the bright flavor with the sweet and savory. Your recipe seems to have the same wonderful qualities. I’m finally breaking out the grill this weekend and will definitely give Gai Yang a try!
Oooh, I hope you do! The flavour of this marinade is truly incredible!! 🙂
is there one brand of fish sauce that you recommend over another…I get confused when making my purchase
Hi Mary! I use all different brands, whatever is on special usually! I’ve never had a problem 🙂
OMG This chicken looks phenomenal! Thai food is my favorite cuisine, so this is going on my menu to make soon. Looks great Nagi and I love the pictures, gorgeous!
Thanks Jo! I think you’ll like the flavours, knowing your taste 🙂 N x
That sounds sooo delicious and I love how much is going on these photos!
Thanks Nic! They are crazy delicious. As the size of my belly evidences!! 😉
Yummmy!! The marinade looks amazing. So shiny and saucy <– grill perfect. And it's simple and perfect for weeknights. Can't wait to give this a try 🙂
Awww, thanks Sarah! 🙂
Those Thai s know how to grill and you have captured it in one gorgeous dish.,one of the first i ever had in Thailand.
They SURE DO Tania!! It’s one of my fave Thai street foods 🙂 I wish I had a charcoal grill in my backyard!!!
WOW! Another fantastic recipe! My hubby is my grill master and I bet he would LOVE this recipe!
Nom Nom Nom!
Hugs,
Linda
Don’t you love that men love to take control of the grill?? Less work for us! Just marinade the meat, then leave the hard work to them!! I grill often when I’m entertaining for that very reason! 🙂