Coconut milk makes a fantastic marinade, tenderising and infusing the chicken with rich flavour. The added bonus is that the marinade makes a fabulous sauce! Try grilling this Coconut Marinated Chicken – or cook it on the stove, your choice!
This is based on a recipe by Bobby Flay, one of my grilling idols. His shows started airing in Australia a few years ago and I was hooked.
Though I have to say…gosh, this could get me in trouble…Does anyone else think he really should consider wearing sunglasses? Because he always seems to be squinting!! 😉
I think he is incredibly talented at bringing together unique flavours with familiar ingredients. I have a killer of a 3 ingredient glazed pork chop recipe of his that I regularly use which I plan to share soon.
But as for this coconut marinated chicken – I am not actually sure whether he had it on his show. I got it from his book, Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction. He makes this with pork tenderloin and has a relish to accompany it. I tried it with pork tenderloin but found that it was difficult to cook to make it moist and tender on the grill.
But the flavour was so awesome that I decided to give it a go with chicken – and scored! It’s sensational!
I like to make a coconut based sauce to serve with the chicken, just to really drive home the coconut flavour. It’s made using the excess marinade – but don’t worry, it’s simmered rapidly to make it safe for consumption.
The chicken is sensational as it is, but honestly, the sauce “makes” this. I do hope you consider giving this a go! – Nagi x
If you love coconut milk sauces, you’ll love these!
-
An amazing easy Thai Coconut Noodle Soup
And more of my favourite Asian Chicken recipes
All these are ideal for grilling but can also be cooked on the stove
-
Yakitori Chicken – Japanese chicken skewers on my mother’s Japanese recipe website, RecipeTin Japan
-
Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang) – marinated in a fragrant Thai marinade
-
Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken – infused with beautiful Vietnamese lemongrass flavours
-
Asian Chicken – marinated in a great Asian marinade that’s sweet sand savoury
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Coconut Marinated Chicken (Grill or Stove)
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 can coconut milk (preferably full fat, but light is ok) (14oz/400g)
- 2 limes - all the zest + 3 tbsp of juice
- 1 tbsp mild curry powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger , finely grated
- 3 garlic cloves , crushed
- 2 tbsp Frank's classic hot sauce , or other hot sauce of choice (adjust to taste) (Note 2)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Chicken
- 1.5 lb / 750g chicken thigh fillets , skinless and boneless
- 1 tbsp oil (for cooking)
- 3/4 cup water
Garnish (optional)
- Fresh coriander leaves
Instructions
- Combine the Marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken and set aside to marinate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the Marinade, shaking off the excess. Keep the Marinade for the Sauce (below).
- Brush the BBQ with oil and heat to medium high, or heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
- Cook the chicken for around 7 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side, or until cooked through.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve with Sauce and garnished with fresh cilantro leaves, if using.
Sauce
- Pour the marinade into a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cook for at least 10 minutes, or until thickened to desired consistency. (Note 1) Transfer to a sauce bowl.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Nagi, these look fabulous! I love watching Bobby on TV and almost every of his shows. And marinating in coconut milk sound like the best idea! We’ll be grilling again this weekend and I cant wait to try this recipe.
Ooh, I hope you do! 🙂 Bobby Flay has it right – the coconut really does tenderise the meat! 🙂
Hi Nagi,
I do so love all your recipes.
Please let me know where to get Frank’s classic hot sause?
Thank you
Anna
Hi Anna! I’m so glad you enjoy my recipes!! Are you in Australia? If so, then you can get Franks Hot Sauce at Coles or Woolworths in the section where tomato sauce / tabasco is sold. It is around $2.50 – $3 for a bottle. But you can substitute it with whatever hot sauce you have – it’s mainly to add spiciness. I updated the recipe with these notes! 🙂
I’m a big fan of Flay also – everything I have ever made of his has been totally on point. Your adaptation sounds phenomenal and turning that wonderful marinade into a sauce is a brilliant idea! And personally, I prefer your pairing of chicken and coconut vs the pork and coconut. Hmm…. Nagi vs Flay Throwdown????
Oh please. Wouldn’t stand a chance. He’s a legend!! 🙂
Oh I am definitely going to try this Nagi! I am always looking for ways to spice up chicken and we just love coconut! Your photos are incredible!
Thanks hun! Coconut really is a fab way to dress up good ole’ chicken! N x
You are really going to make me break my vegetarian wanna be ways with all your perfect looking chickens/meats and the likes. About Bobby Flay, he probably needs glasses i don’t know, but for sure he needs an ego check hehe
This is really lovely.. I was looking for a tenderizing marinade for chicken breast. This is a must try recipe for sure.
Actually, breast will be great for this! I used thigh fillets because I like that it’s juicier. But the marinade will infuse richness into the breast plus there’s the sauce too. I do hope you love it! 🙂
Boy Nagi! You totally Rock this Chicken, agree 200% this is an Amazing flavorful chicken- And the flavors are Fantastic!!!
I KNEW you would approve Imma! 🙂 Quite similar to Caribbean flavours! N x
Nagi, you got me again with this one. But I have to say that back in the day when I watched Food Network all the time, if I had a choice between Bobby Flay and Tyler Florence, I’d pick Tyler every time. That man, IMO, has the best food ever. I’m not sure when I’ll try this, but I will try it, because I love the flavor combo.
Tyler Florence’s show aren’t aired in Australia – so unfair! But I agree, his recipes are fabulous, I’m made quite a few from food network.com.
I do hope you give this a go, the flavour really is fabulous! N x
Definitely the flavor was fabulous. I even used thighs, which I have really never cared for, and really enjoyed it. The only thing is, I ended up with a really grumpy husband who did not appreciate having to grill thighs, which fell apart on him. So next time I’ll either have to do it with bone-in thighs or with breasts. Or cook boneless thighs myself on the stove. Actually, the few times I’ve bought chicken thighs I’ve been really disgusted with how much fat is left on them. I’ll get the thighs issue resolved. The recipe is a definite keeper. 🙂 (No surprise there!)
Oh dear, they fell apart?? How odd, I never seem to have that problem? Sometimes there is a small piece that falls off but generally the whole thigh stays together very well. I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavour Susan! I know what you mean about fat on thighs 🙂 I am a bit fussy about where I get my thighs from because of that. Otherwise I have to trim the excess fat off. Hope you have a lovely weekend Susan!
Hi Nagi! We’ve been eating a lot of chicken lately because other meats are so expensive and ALL of your recipes are “keepers”! I just recently discovered how good coconut milk is in sauces and in baking. This will be our dinner very soon! Thank you once again! 🙂
Oooh! I wait in anticipation to get the report back from you Dorothy!! 🙂
You are my new hero! I love the way you think.
Thanks June! I think you just made my day! N x
This looks so fabulous! We still ahve plenty of grilling time left so I’m going to try this recipe very soon.
I’m so glad you like the look of this!! I do hope you try it soon – the sauce/marinade is simply divine!! All credit to Bobby Flay! 🙂
This is chicken after my own heart! I love using coconut milk as a marinade – only, when I’ve made the sauce from the leftovers, I don’t add water to thin it first before reducing it – so it ends up super thick after I reduce it down (like it did in that Curry Teriyaki Cornish Hens recipe I did) – maybe next time I need to try adding water so it’s more like a sauce and less like a dip?
It’s been awhile since I watched Bobby Flay – but you are right – he does squint ALOT!
Oooh! Do you have any Sri Lankan coconut marinade recipes? I must admit, I did search some time ago, but it’s been a while! I adore Sri Lankan food so much!
Hahaha! I love B.Flay, but I agree… he should invest in some sunglasses 😉 I LOVE this dish, Nagi! I totally dig that you used chicken instead of pork! The coconut milk marinade/sauce sounds seriously delicious and your grill marks have me all sorts of drooling!! Pinned! Cheers, girlfriend!
I’m sooo mean!!! But you know what I mean, right?! He’s always squinting!!! Ha ha ha!
This chicken looks fantastic! Love Bobby Flay’s shows and he has some awesome grilling ideas! Pinned to try it!
Thanks Mira! Bobby is pretty cool, isn’t he? N x
This looks and sounds amazing! I’m going to make this soon! I particularly love the grill marks and also the drawing (?) on your sauce bowl. You’re an artist! 🙂
Why is it that anything with grill marks just looks even better than when it doesn’t? Like bread!! Even bread looks fancier with grill lines on it! N x
I love Bobby Flay. His grilled corn salad is a summer staple in our house!
This chicken looks amazing! And the ingredients in the marinade/sauce are some of my favourites ever!
Cannot wait to try this!!!
Ooh, how have I not tried that! I’m off to find the recipe! N x (PS Is it on your blog by any chance??)
It is the best.
I am shocked to say it isn’t!! Think I will have to rectify that!
Gosh, this looks and sounds fantastic!!! Love all those crispy grill marks. 🙂
Thanks Krista!! Hope you had a fab weekend. Foraging? 😉