More Thai flavors. Recently got a new mortar & pestle, so I was inspired to wing it on a marinade for a chicken . . .
Mise En Place & Kohetsu Blue #2 Addict, 240mmIn the mortar: Thai birds eye chiles, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, shallots and palm sugar in the center. Around the outside: fish sauce, oyster sauce, vegetable oil, salt, turmeric, soy sauce and a lime
(later juiced).
Mashed everything in the mortar into a paste, then combined that paste with the other ingredients to create the marinade.
MortarThis banging new Thai mortar
(and pestle, not pictured) are just what I needed. I was really happy with how much easier it was to paste everything together in this unit, compared to my older one(s). This one holds 3+ cups and is deep enough to bang away without having stuff spray out all over the place.
Spatchcocked Chicken, Marinade & Tojiro Kitchen ShearsI love these shears but they're pretty new and this is the first time I can remember using them on poultry. They made quick work of spatchcocking this bird. The finished marinade
(top left) awaits deployment. And I immediately made a mini batch of stock with the backbone
(ended up with about a pint).
MarinatingI let this marinate for about 6 hours, flipping the bird at the halfway point.
GrillingFigured a 3-zone fire was the way to go -- a small pile of lump charcoal on each side of the kettle and plenty of negative space at 12 and 6, so that the bird would cook evenly. It ended up taking about 30 minutes, covered, in the indirect space.
And of course, there was also side dishery . . .
Baby Eggplants & Kohetsu Blue #2 Addict, 240mmSliced this into discs, then salted them
(for about an hour) and patted them dry with a paper towel. After that, I roasted them in the oven, basting with the leftover sauce from last week's bok choy
(reduced to a glaze, then fortified with fresh garlic and gochujang).
SaladA large assortment of all kinds of greens from
Three Sisters Garden, campari tomatoes and some homemade 1002 Island dressing
(standard, homemade thousand with some other business added).
Plated UpCharcoal-grilled chicken and roasted eggplant, garnished with -- what else? -- a confetti of chive blossoms!
=R=
Same planet, different world