Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)
Grilled Thai chicken, also known as gai yang chicken, is a spicy, sweet, and savory dish hailing from Southeast Asia. The moist thighs are marinated in a delicious mixture of lemongrass, chili, and honey before they’re grilled to juicy, sticky perfection.
“Gai” is the Thai word for “chicken,” and “yang” means “grilled.” And that’s what this is — grilled Thai chicken!
The simple name does nothing to reveal the complex flavors in this Thai chicken recipe. Floral lemongrass, spicy chilis, salty fish sauce, sweet honey and brown sugar, and sesame oil are just a few of the ingredients that will season gai yang chicken.
The marinade is aromatic and sticky, so it’s great for basting the juicy thighs during their short time on the grill. Serve this sweet and spicy Asian BBQ with steamed white rice, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges. A perfect side is my delicious Mango Salad!
Table of Contents
If this type of grilled Thai chicken suits your tastes, you’ll want to try my curry chicken next! Or, if you have time for a longer, more robust recipe, you could try roasted coconut milk chicken — it’s moist, succulent, and simply amazing.
Marinating chicken
Marinate for at least 45 minutes, but I recommend no longer than 8 hours – 24 hours tops. Unlike beef, poultry doesn’t have any tough connective tissue that needs to be tenderized. It starts to break down and the texture gets mushy. While it’s OK to marinate overnight (typically 8 hours), any longer than 24 hours would be far too long if the marinade or rub has a high acid base (vinegar, wine, citrus juice and tomatoes, etc). Just something to be aware of!
(Be sure to check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities)
- Chicken – Boneless thighs are high in fat and cook through quickly and evenly — perfect for grilling!
- Lemongrass Paste – You are most likely to find this ingredient in the produce section. While lemongrass stalks work, too, they’re less convenient and do not add as much flavor.
- Red Chili Flakes & Chilis – A combination of fresh and dried peppers gives gai yang chicken plenty of heat! For the fresh, I recommend Fresno chilis or red jalapenos.
- Lime Juice – A bit of citrus juice is a must for vibrant, dynamic flavor. Lime plays nicely with the other Thai flavors here, but lemon is always an adequate substitute.
- Garlic – Do not use powdered — it will not be as potent in the marinade.
- Brown Sugar & Honey – These two sweeteners add great depth of flavor. The honey coats and moistens the meat, making it wonderfully sticky once it’s grilled!
- White Pepper – I prefer the hot, earthy heat of white pepper in Asian cooking. However, you can use black pepper if needed.
- Chinese Cooking Wine – Feel free to substitute with sake, sherry, or regular white wine.
- Fish Sauce – Salty, earthy, and “umami.” Substitute with soy sauce or tamari sauce as needed.
- Sesame Oil – Try not to substitute this ingredient, as it has a unique flavor that is hard to replicate. If you must replace it, use a neutral oil so as not to throw off the other flavors in this Thai grilled chicken recipe.
- Marinate the Meat. Add all of the marinade ingredients to a bowl and whisk. Place the thighs in a Ziploc bag, then pour the marinade into the bag and massage the liquid into the meat. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Prepare the Grill. Preheat the grill to 350 degrees F. As it comes to temperature, remove the thighs from the marinade and set aside. Retain the marinade for basting as the meat cooks.
- Grill. Place the marinated meat on the grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Baste with the marinade and turn, cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes so that both sides are browned and the center is cooked through. Discard any marinade not used for basting.
- Let Rest. Transfer the grilled Thai chicken to a plate and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Garnish & Serve. Garnish with sesame seeds, fresh chiles, and cilantro as desired.
Recommended Tools
- Ziploc Bag – Any airtight container that can hold all of the marinade and meat will work, but I prefer the ease of a Ziploc bag.
- Grill – If the weather isn’t quite right for outdoor grilling, you could also prepare this Thai chicken recipe with a grill pan on your stove.
Storing and Reheating
Transfer any uneaten gai yang chicken to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. A quick reminder that you should not save any unused marinade to store with your leftovers!
You can reheat on the stovetop over medium heat or in the oven at around 350 degrees F until warmed through.
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It’s always hard to tell by sight, so you should instead let the internal temperature of the meat tell you when it’s done. The safe internal temperature of poultry is 165 degrees F, but you should remove it from the heat when it reaches 163 degrees F — the temperature will continue to rise as the meat rests.
That’s one great thing about this dish — it’s versatile and adaptable.
You can prepare this Thai grilled chicken recipe on the stovetop with a grill pan to get the same outdoor grill marks and flavors. Or, bake it and broil at the end to caramelize the sauce!
I always prefer using boneless chicken thighs. The dark thigh meat is naturally juicer than white, and boneless cuts cook in half the time — very convenient! But, boneless chicken breasts are perfectly suitable as well.
Whichever cut you use, it should be skinless so that the marinade can really do its thing by flavoring and tenderizing the meat to its very core.
You can find more information about cooking times for various cuts of meat in the recipe card.
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Thai Gai Yang Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 tbsp lemongrass paste
- 6 cloves garlic smashed and minced
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp red chili flakes
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine sherry or sake
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
Garnish
- Lime wedges
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- Red Fresno or Jalapeño chile finely sliced
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Whisk together the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken to a Ziploc bag and pour in marinade. Massage to spread the marinade over all the chicken for at least 45 minutes to 24 hours in the refrigerator. This infuses it with the flavors and helps tenderize the meat.
- Get grill to medium high (350°F). Remove chicken from the marinade and set aside.
- Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes each side. Baste with marinade before turning. (SEE NOTES for grilling times).
- Remove from grill and allow to rest for a few minutes before garnishing with sesame seeds, fresh chiles, cilantro and serve with lime wedges and steamed rice.
Video
Notes
- Boneless thighs: Grill for 4 minutes per side, then check the internal temp.
- Bone-in thighs: Grill for 6 minutes per side, then check the internal temp.
- Boneless breasts: Grill for 5 minutes per side, then check the internal temp.
- Bone-in breasts: Grill for 7 minutes per side, then check the internal temp.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This was so good! I had to make it in the oven as I don’t have a grill, but I’m making it again tonight and doing it in the air fryer to see if I can get a ‘crispier’ texture.
FYI!! I also made the Thai Mango Salad to go with it (WOW!) this was the bomb for sure!
I did substitute the green beans with sugar snap peas and added some sliced cucumber.
It truely was amazing! Not only was it a beautiful salad, but everyone loved it!
For sure, making it again!!
Thanks!
So happy you enjoyed the recipes Stacy. Thanks for coming back and letting me know, too.
This recipe looks great and have made similar Thai dishes. I do however completely disagree on your comment re marinating and the time. I quite often marinate chicken for 24 hours and ever has it come out tough and rubbery. Also marinating protein does inject flavor into the food, and yes it does tenderize the protein that’s not the only purpose to marinate otherwise you wouldn’t add additional ingredients.
Thanks for the feedback Gerrard.
marinating chicken in an acidic marinade too long can absolutely change the texture!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! Will definitely be a go to for us! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
So happy you enjoyed this one Lisa. Appreciate you coming back to let me know. 🙂
I have made SO many Asian and Thai inspired chicken recipes, and this is my far the best flavor I’ve ever made! We are making it again tonight and I’m so excited! I’m sure you could try to make this in the air fryer as well if it’s winter time? Not sure with the juices and marinade. But this is AMAZING.
AND it can be made on a grill pan or under the broiler, too Ciara. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know!
This is really good and so simple. I only added 1 tsp of chili flakes and it’s still a bit too hot for me. Maybe some coconut lime rice?! I boiled down the marinade (sorry!) and added some hoisin which helped. Anyway great recipe ❤️🌶️
Excellent! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know Mary. 🙂
We made this tonight and the flavors were amazing – definitely reminded us of our honeymoon in Thailand. Next time, I would marinade the chicken longer though as I would have liked if it had a touch more flavor. I also used Thai chilis from my garden sliced in half length-wise instead of the pepper flakes, yum! We served it with rice and grilled broccoli. This recipe will definitely be in our rotation now – it’s great for those hot summer nights when it’s too hot to cook inside.
Fantastic, so happy you enjoyed this one!