Cambodian Grilled Chicken
Cambodian-inspired grilled chicken is a flavor-packed dish that will tantalize your taste buds. With a tantalizing marinade, flavorful glaze, and zesty dipping sauce, this dish is sure to impress.
Cambodian-inspired grilled chicken is a flavor-packed dish that will tantalize your taste buds. With a tantalizing marinade, flavorful glaze, and zesty dipping sauce, this dish is sure to impress.
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 ea fryer chicken (3-4 lbs), butterflied aka spatchcocked
- wet rub
- 5 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 ea green onion
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- glaze
- 1 clove garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- dipping sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- Carbohydrate 227.769116624738 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 19.0845987008521 g
- Fiber 3.51696444544178 g
- Protein 4.5936885415059 g
- Saturated Fat 1.49313074362668 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (479g)
- Sodium 8051.00240253403 mg
- Sugar 224.252152179297 g
- Trans Fat 0.37047036143235 g
- Calories 1018 calories
Step-by-step
- Spatchcock the chicken. This basically means cutting out the back bone and flattening the bird. If you don't know how to do this, ask your butcher to do it for you.
- Then make 2 to 3 deep slashing parallel cuts across the thigh and leg (see pictures). I've seen Steven Raichlen and Adam Perry Lang both do this and it makes for a nice presentation. I suspect it also might help with seasoning and cooking times in some circumstances but I don't know that for sure.
- Next make your marinade for the bird by mixing the ingredients in a mini-food processer. You could also mix crush it all up in a mortar and pestle then add the fish and soy sauce instead. Rub the marinade all over the bird including the back. Make sure to get in deep into the thigh cuts under the legs, and everywhere. Just pretend you are rubbing suntan lotion on Michael Symon or Nigella Lawson and you'll get it right.
- Marinate the bird for 1 to 4 hours. Marinate at room temperature for the last hour of marinating.
- Raichlen gives you several options for cooking. I did the easy spatchcock method for the Big Green Egg which is simply cooking skin side up on a raised grid with the Egg at 350f for one hour. I used natural lump coal with no added wood chunks because Raichlen's book indicates that's the fuel of choice for Cambodian grills. You could also do this by roasting the chicken in your oven for 1 hour.
- While the chicken is cooking, mix your basting glaze. Heat the oil over medium heat. Peel the garlic clove and give it a good whack with the side of a knife to crush it. Simmer the garlic in the oil for 1 minute. Remove the garlic to a small bowl.
- Add the paprika to the pan and simmer for about 30 seconds. Pour into the bowl with the garlic and let sit.
- When the chicken has been on for 45 minutes, brush on the glaze. This is going to give you a shocking amount of color but don't panic. You won't end up with an orange chicken.
- At 55 minutes check the bird for temps. If it is at 170f in the thigh and 155f in the breast, flip it (if grilling) and let it cook for just 5 minutes skin side down. Temp check the bird again. It should now be 170-175 in the thigh and 160 in the breasts.
- Pull the chicken from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Prepare your dipping sauce by putting the dry seasonings in a bowl.
- Microwave the lime juice for 20 seconds and then pour onto the dry seasonings. Give it a quick stir with a mini-whisk or fork.
- Cut the chicken into pieces and serve with rice and the dipping sauce.
Why is the skin turning bright orange when I apply the glaze? That discoloration causes panic among home cooks working with sweet paprika for the first time, but the pigment mellows significantly over the heat without overpowering the poultry. Southeast Asian poultry preparations rely on aggressive aromatics and precise thermal control to build deep savory profiles without scorching delicate sugars.
Mastering the Spatchcock and Wet Rub
Removing the backbone and flattening the bird accomplishes more than just a neat presentation. Spatchcocking ensures even contact with the cooking surface, allowing the 3-to-4-pound fryer to cook uniformly within one hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Deep slashing across the thighs and legs penetrates dense muscle fibers, giving the garlic, fish sauce, and turbinado sugar rub direct pathways into the meat. Allow the bird to sit at room temperature for the final 60 minutes of its 1-to-4-hour marination window to take the chill off the center before it hits the heat.
Managing Temperatures and Glazes
Success ultimately hinges on pulling the bird at exact internal thermal thresholds rather than relying solely on visual cues. Target 170 degrees Fahrenheit in the thigh and 155 degrees in the breast before flipping the chicken skin-side down for the final five minutes of cooking. Finish by resting the meat for 10 minutes to let internal juices redistribute fully. Pairing the smoky bird with a sharp lime and red pepper flake dipping sauce balances the rich layers of fat and aromatic oils built throughout the cooking process.
