Danielle's Cooking Adventures: Chili-Garlic-Herb Grilled Chicken

I heart BBQ-ed chicken. T'is the season after all! Sometimes, the most classic flavour combinations end up being the best. It's all about the balance- spicy, tangy, garlicky, all in one! The other day I got a pack of tiny thai chilis. It came with so many, and the thing is, each tiny chili is super spicy, so I was like, there ain't no way I'm finishing this before it goes bad! So I did the sensible thing and froze them in a ziploc baggy. Now, I put them in EVERYTHING! You use them the same way as chili flakes, and you can always replace with those if you don't have fresh, but fresh is always better!

Anywhoo, I'm obsessed with anything chili-garlic. So Jamie Oliver-esque.

I also got a pack of fresh thyme, and froze that too because when do you ever need more than a sprig or two? Otherwise it gets too thym-ey up in there. Ain't nobody got thyme for that! Ha!

So, for this recipe, I just grabbed a few sprigs of thyme from the freezer. Freezing thyme (get it?) actually makes it easier to take it off the stem than when it's fresh.

Of course, you can use dried thyme for this, but I happened to have fresh, so... yeah....

Ok so this chicken.... I had chicken scallopini which I usually fry and make shnitzel out of, but I was feeling the grilled route more. Plus, it's healthier!

Scallopini is a super thin cut of the chicken breast, but you could use regular cutlets for this too, just change the cooking time. Or, you could butterfly the chicken breasts (google helps!) to make them thinner.

I did get a little nervous cooking such a thin piece of chicken on the grill, but don't be! As long as you're watching it to make sure it doesn't get overcooked, it won't!

Ok... here it is!

Chili-Garlic-Herb Grilled Chicken:

4 boneless-skinless Chicken Breasts (butterfly/scallopini-cut optional)

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp lemon juice

1-2 tbsp garlic, minced finely

1-2 red thai chilies (or any red chili), minced or sliced finely (these had seeds but I didn't remove them because the chilies are so small to begin with, plus, it adds more heat!)

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tbsp parsley flakes

few shakes of salt and pepper

In a glass dish OR a large freezer bag, put all ingredients except for chicken. Mix all ingredients until combined well. Place chicken in dish or bag, cover/seal and place in the fridge. If using thin cuts of chicken, you will only be able to marinate for 15-20 minutes until the lemon juice starts to tenderize the chicken, and you don't want to do this for too long because it will start to break down! (not good!) If using regular cutlets, you can probably marinate for 30 minutes. Halfway between your 'designated' marinating time, flip over the chicken! Ok! We are ready to grill!

Preheat your grill on a low-medium heat. As soon as it's hot, place your chicken on the grill. Let those babies cook! Once you see that the bottom is getting nice grill marks and is browning, flip over and cook the other side. This whole process only takes a few minutes, don't leave your grill or you might get dry chicken! Ew. My worst enemy!

Anyways, once both sides are brown and have grill marks, they should be ready! Don't let it cook a minute longer than it needs to! Once the inside is fully white (might have to cut into one to check, or you can tell by feeling it, but that takes practice), take it off!

Now, there's many things you can do with grilled chicken. What I did, I will be saving for my next post, because it was that good! I'll give you a hint.... grilled chicken, peppers and zucchini tossed in chili-garlic oil infused linguine. Ok, that was more than a hint, but get excited! Perfect summertime meal!

You can also... make paninis, flatbreads, salads.... or eat it just the way it is!