Feeling refreshed and recuperated after our long summer break, the boys are now back at school and my mind can finally refocus a little on my dear Gather and Graze.
This recipe has been a popular one with our family through the summer time, though I can certainly picture us eating it year round, as the flavour is simply too good to set aside as a seasonal dish. It has been adapted from a recipe that a friend of mine passed on… thanks Jen! I’ve been cheeky and added a few extra ingredients like garlic, chilli and palm sugar, which I feel add a little more complexity to the flavour, which already was out of this world.
Kaffir Lime BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 8-10 Free-Range Skinless Chicken Thigh Fillets (trimmed of excess fat and cut in half)
- 10 Kaffir Lime Leaves (stripped from stems)
- 20 Fresh Mint Leaves (roughly torn)
- 3-4 Spring Onions (roughly chopped)
- 1 Garlic Clove (roughly chopped)
- 1 Fresh Red Chilli (roughly chopped)
- 3 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil (or Peanut Oil)
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons Palm Sugar (or substitute for Brown Sugar)
Instructions
Place all ingredients (apart from the chicken fillets) into a small food processor and blend until ingredients are combined and finely chopped.
Transfer the marinade to a mixing bowl and combine with the chicken fillets to coat. Allow the chicken to marinate (covered in the fridge) for several hours, or overnight if possible.
I prefer to remove the chicken from the fridge about an hour before cooking, so that it comes to room temperature which will allow the fillets to cook more evenly.
Barbecue the fillets over medium heat. They will need approximately 7-8 minutes each side. Test to ensure they are cooked properly before removing to a warmed plate to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Lovely served with steamed jasmine rice and a salad on the side.
Gather & Graze 
Chicken and citrus – pure deliciousness.
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Margot, thank you for sharing this beautiful recipe. I can get all the ingredients over here in Hong Kong. Yeah…I’m still here. Missing home though..Jasmine rice is such a good pair with the lovely grilled chicken. I might try throwing in some pandan leaves, a piece of ginger and coconut cream to cook the rice. It’s so obvious that I’m missing Singapore food. Have a good weekend my friend. Warmly, Danny.
Hi Danny, loving your thoughts on those few little extra enhancements… I’ve never cooked rice with coconut cream before, but can just imagine how amazing the flavour must be. Can I ask what your method/quantities are for making this? Intrigued!
Sounds like Hong Kong hasn’t swept you off your feet… the homesickness must be tough. Do you manage to get many opportunities to head home to Singapore now and then to rejuvenate the spirit? It’s tough being in one place and wishing you were in another… Thinking of you and hope that all will work itself out in the near future. Margot 🙂
Hi Margot, sorry for my very late reply. I normally use a very small piece of ginger and a few leaves of pandan crushed and tied into a small bunch. Cook them together with the rice and water. Add coconut cream when the rice is just cooked. Stir the cream in and cook for another few minutes and it’s done. Same as the ginger and pandan leaves, you don’t need a lot of cream. Just one cup is good enough to give good subtle flavor to the rice. You might like it.
I try to go home for short breaks every year during summer. Specially to visit my mom. She longs for me even though we do video calls every weekend. Besides home, I visit Japan quite often from here to re-energize myself. I just came back from Hokkaido last week. It was a good break.
Thank you Margot. Thinking of you too! Hope all is well and I’m so happy that you are staying in touch. Danny 🙂
Your BBQ chicken thighs look absolutely delicious. I’m going to ask the Asian restaurant in our town if they know where I can buy the kaffir leaves. I’ve seen so many great looking recipes like yours that use them.
Thanks so much Karen! I really hope you’re able to source the kaffir lime leaves – they give such a beautiful, unique flavour. Cheers, Margot
That looks so delicious! I can’t wait for barbecue weather, we are pretty hardy and don’t mind a bit of a grey day but it is freezing at the moment and raining so much our river just flooded for the fourth time but I will make a note of this recipe for later in the year!
Gosh, sounds like it’s been a tough winter Anna. Spring is just around the corner though, so I’m sure you’ll be barbecuing before you know it! 🙂
Hello, stranger! Lol! Great to see you posting again! This is the kind of flavors I’m passionate about. Yes, passionate 😄 Every time I see those lime leaves in Asian stores, I have to buy them. So now I have a stash in the freezer! I think it’s time to make this chicken.
Great idea keeping them in the freezer Angie! Often you only need 1 or 2 to infuse a dish, so it would be such a waste to discard the rest. Hope you’re well my friend and apologies for taking so long to get back to you! M.xx
Happy New Year,Margot! It’s so good to see you back and to hear that all is well in your neck of the woods, You sure did pick a great recipe to mark your return. Best of all, only recently did I discover a nearby market that carries fresh kaffir leaves. Coincidence or Sign? 🙂
😀 Perhaps it’s a little bit of both John! So happy to know you can get your hands on fresh kaffir lime leaves. I’d love to hear back from you with your thoughts if you give this a go.
Hope you’re well and wishing you all the best for the year ahead. Oh and I made some of your anise biscotti (from your cookbook!) over the festive season – they were totally delicious! Thank you.
This looks and sounds incredible Margot. Love those little flecks of green on the chicken (and so nice they remained after cooking, I always get sad when my beautiful marinades turn brown and sticky after grilling, haha). Glad that life has settled a little as the new year moves into its own rhythm. I’ve been very awol myself (nice to know I’m not the only one!) and I look forward to being inspired, reading and finding out what’s happening with you as the year continues! Sending you hugs lovely xxx
Thanks so much Laura, it really is wonderful to be back into a routine and to have time once again to focus on blogging.
I SO know what you mean about marinades, often there’s a trade off between getting that lovely charcoal flavour from the bbq and losing some of the marinade flavour and looks that you would have had if you’d baked it in the oven – this one works perfectly on the bbq, particularly with thighs that stay so moist and beautifully tender.
Looking forward to being inspired by you too this year my friend! M.xx
You are wonderful P.S remember that whole big tent dinner we talked about waaaaaay long ago? I still often think about that! xx
This looks absolutely delicious!!
That’s very kind of you – cheers!
Happy New Year, dear Margot! Good to see you back blogging. I have to go look for kaffir lime leaves, as this marinade loos so~ good! 🙂
Thanks dear Fae! Are kaffir lime leaves readily available over in the USA? Hopefully you’ll be able to find some as the marinade is well worth trying. 🙂
YAY! Margot’s back! So good to see your post today and what a doozie. I love the flavor of kaffir lime leaves and I’m definitely going to make this. Beautiful photographs. Can’t say that I have even seen such beautiful photo’s of grilling. Looking forward to seeing your posts again Margot and I’ve just got to get myself back up to blogging as well.
Thanks so much for your lovely words Seana. I was intending to photograph the chicken all plated up at the end, but it looked so yummy cooking on the bbq that I decided to go with that instead. It also meant that we could eat dinner while it was hot, which is always a bonus for food bloggers (and their families)! 😉 Hope you’ve been well my friend and look fwd to seeing you back in the blogosphere as well when you find the time. M.xx
Happy New Year! I need some food inspiration for my lads and this delicous sounding feed will go down a treat. Love a bit of kaffir lime. I need to get me a kaffir lime tree too! (The only gardening I can get interested in is if it’s something I can eat..)
Thanks Lisa and hope you’ve had a good start to 2016. It’s a handy little tree to have… a bit like having a bay tree… most of the time you just need a leaf or two to enhance the aromatics. Mine is only tiny, but getting lots of new shoots/leaves through these warmer months. Just hoping it will survive the Canberra winter! 😁
Good to see you back on here. And what a dish!
I used dried lime leaves (have no idea what sort they are) with red lentils, baby spuds and carrots (with other stuff) just last week and couldn’t believe how good it tasted. Are you able to buy Kaffir leaves fresh? Mine are probably Turkish. Now I’ll be looking out for other recipes to use them in.
Okay, I’ve just noticed your reply to Suzanne – that answers my question. 🙂
Hi Johnny… it’s great to be back! How amazing you’ve been using lime leaves recently too… the kaffir lime leaves are quite distinctive with each leaf having what looks like a double leaf on the stem. I’ve bought them freeze dried before, but for this dish I’d definitely opt for the fresh. Most of our supermarkets sell them fresh these days in packs of about a dozen leaves, so it might be worth having a look.
Hope all is going well with you.
Happy New Year to you as well! 🙂 This recipe looks incredibly delicious!
~ Anna
That’s so very kind of you Anna. Cheers!
Cheers! 🙂
Glad to see your life is getting back to normal and you found time to start posting again! Chicken looks delicious!
It’s been a busy few months Anatoli, so I’m happy to finally get a chance to jump back into the blogosphere! Lots to catch up on. Hope you’re well my friend – I’ve just realised your friends would be off on their cruise by now, sorry for not being able to make it up to Sydney to rendezvous with them for a wine exchange. It was a lovely thought on your part! 🙂
Hello Margot! So nice to hear from you! Hope you and your family are doing well and that you’ll some time to breath now that your children are back in school.
Great and super flavorful dish to celebrate your coming back! 🤓
Thanks dear Francesca… it’s been so nice this week to have a bit of time to myself finally. Summer breaks are always just that week (or two!) too long. We were all about ready to throttle each other! 😉 M.xx
Ooh that looks and sounds so good – and the best part of the chicken as far as I’m concerned!
Absolutely Tanya – I’m with you 100%! 🙂
Yahoo, welcome back Margot. So happy to see you again 🙂 This recipe looks fantastic and the marinade with Kaffir Lime looks perfect for this kind of BBQ. Have a superb day! xx
Thanks so much Linda – I’ve missed you! As always, I appreciate your kind thoughts and comments. M.xx
Nice Thai flavors. Good idea to use kaffir lime leaves instead of juice (which would ‘cook’ the chicken) and to use thighs instead of breasts. Definitely something to try in summer.
Cheers Stefan! I agree – thighs are by far the best option here… they stay so moist and tender. Perfect for the BBQ.
Welcome back, Margot. This sounds so fragrant and delicious! I wouldn’t know where to search for kaffir lime leaves in France… maybe the Asian store? I’d love to try this some day!
Thanks Darya! Yes, I’d try any of the Asian grocers that perhaps specialise in Thai food… so very much hope you can find some, as it’s such an amazing flavour and fragrance. Let me know how you go! 🙂
Great to see your post Margot, I missed you. I have a potted kaffir lime loving it’s spot on my balcony. I’m sure it would gladly give up some leaves to make a delicious marinade. Definitely on the list for dinner next week, thanks…
It’s been good to have a break Sandra… though I’ve missed you too. Really quite a handy thing having a little potted kaffir lime. Hope you enjoy this marinade as much as we do. M.xx
Love the idea of using Kaffir lime leaves in this marinade for chicken.. Must have added a refreshing zing to the chicken 😊
It really is such a beautifully aromatic ingredient to use. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Looks so delicious!
Thanks very much Lina. 🙂
So happy to see you posting again!! This is a wonderful
Recipe, I just love the marinade. Need to get my hands in some kaffir lime leaves so I can make that marinade. The chicken looks incredibly moist and delicious😄💕
Thanks so much Suzanne… it’s great to be back! 🙂 I ended up buying my own little kaffir lime tree, which I’ve planted in a pot – so far it’s doing really well and thankfully hasn’t yet been stripped bare by my needing to make this dish on a regular basis. M.xx