Thai Chicken Thighs
Cilantro, Thai basil, fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar = best marinade ever. Grilled or cooked on a grill pan on the stovetop!
Greetings from NYC!
Guys, it is toasty here. What’s so funny is that the last time I was here with Ben, it was for the Thanksgiving parade last year and it was 19 degrees, tying it for the second-coldest Thanksgiving Day in New York City’s history, and the coldest since 1901. (Temperatures dipped to 15 degrees in 1871.)
And now it’s just shy of 100 degrees F.
That’s okay though.
I’m just thinking about being even hotter right now, behind a hot grill, flipping these perfectly crisp-tender chicken thighs that’s been marinated in cilantro, Thai basil, fish sauce, lime juice, lime zest, brown sugar and ginger.
It’s legit a bath of all the best Thai flavors ever.
If you’d rather cook this on the stovetop, you can easily throw these on a grill pan over medium-high heat, cooking until golden brown and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side.
But grill or stovetop, please stay cool this weekend, folks. It’s a hot one!!!
Thai Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup chopped Thai basil leaves
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Instructions
- CILANTRO MIXTURE: In a medium bowl, combine cilantro, basil, green onions, fish sauce, 2 tablespoons canola oil, lime juice, lime zest, brown sugar, ginger, salt and pepper.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken and CILANTRO MIXTURE; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat.
- Brush chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add chicken to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
A total winner! I used boneless thighs and broiled them. Family devoured.
Soooooo yummy. Because I am lazy, I usually just pour the lot (chicken and marinade both) right into a baking dish and throw it all in the oven at 350° for about a half an hour or until cooked. It’s so yummy and now there’s a built-in gravy! 🙂 Thank you so much for this recipe!
Prepared the chicken exactly per the recipe and served over basmati rice. Marinated for 24 hours. Grilled on a very hot bbq grill. This was very good – my wife loved it. I ate mine with Siracha sauce as I need the spice – my wife sprinked soy sauce on hers.
When I make it again, I will try adding some garlic and some Serrano or Thai chiles in the marinade as I crave the spice. Thanks for a great recipe!
Really good. My husband loved it! I thought perhaps a little garlic would be nice, perhaps a little less fish sauce. I was unable to grill it due to “technical difficulties”. I cooked it in the air fryer for 20 minutes at 380° and it came out perfectly. It would have been much better grilled. I would try it again.
Love Tai food, its the best
This recipe and Huli Huli grilled chicken thighs are hard or maybe impossible to beat for unique flavors. Gosh, we love them both soooo much. If you try Hulu Huli make sure the ingredients include pineapple juice. Many don’t.
Icky on the cilantro! The rest, PERFECT!
This has become my got0 recipe for any dinner. It is so good and so easy and it never fails to impress my guests. I pair it with ramen noodles with sauce.
Love this marinade. I have made it before with fresh herbs as the directions state and it was fantastic. I just made it today using stir-in pastes (from Aldi) in place of the cilanto, basil, and ginger and it’s also amazing so that’s another option if you were curious. Highly recommend grilling these and not cooking inside due to the smell of the fish sauce!
Love this recipe! The chicken is so flavorful
Where’s the recipe’s instructions
everyone saying is so great so I
can actually make this
Thai chicken recipe‼️
I did have to do a few subs; oyster sauce, regular basil, and dried cilantro. It was absolutely fantastic; juicy and flavorful. Thank you for sharing such consistently good recipes.
Has anyone cooked this chicken in an air fryer?
It sure is, Damn Delicious!! This recipe is a great marinade whether you use thighs or breasts. I have found it best to grill the chicken for the charred taste. You will find it to be a crowd pleasure at bbq’s so make it to share or to impress! Recently I have gone the extra step to incorporate this chicken dish with Thai green curry as it will enhance and give extra depth to the curry (just serve the curry sauce over the chicken and rice).
SO DELICIOUS!! I hardly ever leave reviews, but I had to in this case. Marinated appx 5-6 hours and grilled. I forgot to zest my lime, but it was seriously still SO flavorful!! Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe!!
This was so good! Used regular basil since no access to Thai basil, and marinated for about 6 hours before grilling. So tender and flavorful! Thank you!
This recipe was DELICIOUS! This one is going into our dinner rotation. The marinade is so good.
Delicious and easy to make.
This is spectacular!! I marinated for 8 hours. Used 4 thighs and a random breast. Started on stove top and moved to oven. I took Jeanne’s advice and added cornstarch and water to the marinade, I also added some thin soy sauce and some fresh basil leaves also a few small spoonfuls for the essence from the skillet. Plated it on top of spinach, arugula, slivers of basil, with 2 big spoonfuls of warm red quinoa and then spooned the warm ‘dressing’ over it all. Amazing! I felt it needed a bit of crunch from some type of nut or seed but spouse emphatically said it was perfect as it was. Thank you. This will def go into the rotation.
Delicious! I marinated the chicken thighs for 6 hours, then browned them on a stovetop grill pan. I finished cooking them in a 350 degree oven.
Also, I saved the leftover marinade and added cornstarch, simmering it to make a sauce to put on the rice which accompanied the chicken.
I’ll definitely make this again!
Delicious! Made these yesterday and the marinade was magic. Tender, juicy and very flavorful. Thank you for a terrific recipe.
It sounds delicious but replace canola oil with organic, grass fed chicken fat, coconut oil, avocado oil. Also beef tallow and pork lard are very healthy. Saturated oils are the healthiest. Canola, soy, safflower, sunflower, corn, peanut, even sesame oils are very unhealthy oils.
Mmmmm these look wonderful. I love your marinade. I need to grow Thai basil. I always forget.
I added garlic & then coconut milk to the marinade and put it on the stovetop too cook through. I also sautéed some onions and baby bella mushrooms & added them to the pot. I don’t think I would add the salt to the marinade next time as it was a bit salty for my taste due to the fish sauce, but just salt the chicken before putting it on the grill. I love the idea of lemongrass, chilis & kafir leaves like someone else posted! I’m wishing I had thought of that, but making a sauce for the dish was an afterthought once I had a bag of wonderful marinade leftover, I just couldn’t throw it out. It did need some heat though so I’ll chilis the next time! I also did not add the extra oil, salt & pepper to the chicken before grilling. Excellent dish that I will make again soon!
This chicken is so full of umami flavor which I suspect is my favorite flavor of all time! The fish sauce is what makes this so amazing…just don’t sniff the bottle as you are pouring it into the marinade. I also added a clove of garlic to the marinade because I am obsessed with garlic. I served this with a crunchy Thai coleslaw with a peanut salad dressing and it was absolute heaven.
Doubleplusgood.
Making again tonight.
Serving with cauliflower watermelon salad.
Thanks.
This was so easy to make, attractive, aromatic, tender and delicious. I am new to using fish sauce and was delighted to find that it adds a wonderful depth to the flavour of the grilled chicken. I will be adding it to other dishes. As mentioned by others, the smell of the fish sauce is not appetizing out of the bottle, but it completely transforms once on the grill.
This was so yummy. Pan fried the chicken thighs, and sauteed bok choy garlic and onions in the brown bits with some soy sauce. Added the thighs and their juices back to the pan at the end and served over basmati rice. Will DEFINITELY make again.
I couldn’t find thai basil, so added mint and basil to the marinade.
Thank you for the suggestion about adding mint and basil as a substitute for Thai basil! Now: For a cilantro-hating husband, any suggestions for replacing that ? I miss it!
Wow, so delicious! My family loved this recipe. Will be adding this to the rotation. Thank you!
Delicious! Marinated for about 2.5 hours then cooked in a cast iron and finished in the oven. The only problem is my boyfriend hates the smell of fish sauce but that is not the smell you are left with after this cooks. We served with a salad of fresh carrots, peppers, and cold diced sweet potato covered in peanut sauce. Super yummy!
Would this recipe work in an air fryer such as Philips or Ninja makes? Things come out of the air fryer pretty crispy.
Wow! So delicious and fresh tasting. My husband said this is his favorite recipe we’ve ever made! Definitely a keeper recipe!
Fam loved it. Made recipe exactly and added a couple boneless breasts in addition to thighs. Served with a cilantro rice and asparagus for a bowl presentation.
I have made several times and it is awesome. Has anyone froze it? I need to prep some some meals for freezer and would love this one.
Hi,
It looks delicious!
Before trying it, I have a few questions:
1) What about adding grated lemongrass stalks, bird’s eye chilies, and kafir lime leaves to the marinade? All of them are widely used in Thai cuisine.
2) Can I reuse the marinade as a cooking liquid for veggies (mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes) to accompany the chicken? In this case, should I multiply the marinade ingredient quantities by an appropriate factor?
I did and I added garlic & then coconut milk for a cooking liquid. I also sautéed some onions and baby bella mushrooms & it was really good. I don’t think I would add the salt to the marinade next time as it was a bit salty for my taste due to the fish sauce, but just salt the chicken before putting it on the grill. I love the idea of lemongrass, chilis & kafir leaves! I’m wishing I had thought of that, but making a sauce for the dish was an afterthought once I had a bag of marinade leftover. It did need some heat though! I also did not add the extra oil, salt & pepper to the chicken before grilling. Excellent dish that I will make again soon!
@melinda- Did you just add the raw marinade to a pan and cook the veggies and garlic in marinade then added coconut milk?
Planning on pan-frying and finishig in the oven..trying to work out order to use marinade as a sauce, add veggies to have over rice.
Thanks!
We grilled the chicken after only marinating for 2 hours and it turned out great!! I made it with coconut rice and asparagus. I will definitely be making this again with no changes.
These were delicious! I only used 1 tbsp of fish sauce in the marinade and cooked them in a cast iron pan! Very good dinner with jasmine rice and broccoli!
Hi,
This looks so delicious. Just wondering if you have any recommendations for cooking this in the oven. I don’t have a grill.
This was the tastiest delicious recipe I’ve had in a long while. I served it with steamed rice and broccoli.
Great tasting, family loved it. We marinated for 5 hours next time I will do long. There will definitely be a next time!
I made thus yesterday and it was really delicious. I didn’t have time to marinate overnight, but four hours was enough to get a really good flavor.
Due to the brown sugar in the marinade, you have to pay attention to the heat though. It burns more easily when it gets caramelized.
I will definitely make this again 🙂
Fantastic recipe! I marinated the chicken thighs for about 9 hours before it hit the grill and it was so delicious. Husband and son loved it — served with basmati rice and pan seared shishito peppers. The flavors were just perfect and didn’t overpower. Will make this again!
We made this tonight and it is just fabulous!!! The flavors are so rich and complex but the chicken shines through. It’s easy and so tender!! This is going to take top spot on my stack of chicken recipes. We’ll make it again and again, I’m sure. It looks like a fair amount of prep, but the fresh herbs go quickly because I chopped up the stems, too, since it was going to be drained off. Quick, easy, perfect!! I’m already sharing it with my cooking friends!!
I used peanut oil (we don’t like canola oil odor or taste)and date palm sugar (less harsh-traditional Thai ingredient) plus some minced Thai Chiles/Phrik Kee Nu (also available in jar minced if fresh not available)
My family LOVED this recipe! We will absolutely make this again. I saw lots of comments on the “stinky” fish sauce. Invest in a quality fish sauce like you would invest in a good olive oil. It makes all the difference! I personally love the brand of fish sauce called Red Boat.
Good call!
Don’t know the recipe managed to smell more like the fish sauce than anything & the taste wasn’t good enough to get past the fish smell. I wanted to really love it, especially since it had such great reviews but unfortunately was not what I was expecting
We’re sorry to hear this one didn’t turn out for you, Paula. If you are not a fan of fish sauce, then this recipe is certainly not for you.
The quality of Fish Sauce is a huge factor. The higher the quality, the less pungent the smell. I used to use grocery store brands. Now I get a brand that doesn’t have much English in it.
My husband and I thought these were absolutely delicious – I used a combo of fish sauce and soy sauce as I finished up my fish sauce and did not have quite enough – it worked fine. They smelled heavenly while cooking – We will be doing these again. Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe!
We’re so glad you and your hubby enjoyed it so much, Paula! 🙂
Where is the nutrition information?
Hi EB! Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
Made this for supper last night and it ended with deliciously positive reviews from my family! So quick and simple to make, I love trying new marinades!
We’re so glad this was such a hit with the family, Kimberley!
Although these are a little stinky where the marinade is concerned (the fish sauce is culprit), the end result is absolutely delicious…i.e. Damned Delicious. We marinated overnight to get maximum flavor and used Italian basil instead of Thai basil because of availability. After grilling them, the chicken thighs remained succulent and mildly flavored with the marinade ingredients with a slight kiss of the smoke from the grill. These are quite simple, but extraordinarily tasty and tender and would make a great dinner party entree.
Yes, the fish sauce is very strong but so so worth it! 🙂
I was so excited to try this recipe. It’s not often that I have all the ingredients at home! I’m actually growing Thai basil in my garden this year, so I was anxious to use it. This recipe did not disappoint! I love the flavors and it was easy to put together in the morning for dinner. Thank you.
Homegrown is the best! Thanks for sharing with us, Maria!
This recipe looks amazing. However, I live in a senior apartment building and we are not allowed to grill. Please post the recipe for stove top cooking. Thank you so much.
If you’d rather cook this on the stovetop, you can easily throw these on a grill pan over medium-high heat, cooking until golden brown and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. 🙂
can this be made in the oven ? obviously you wouldn’t end up with the beautiful grill marks, but that’s my preferred method of cooking and this sounds amazing. thanks 🙂
Yes, absolutely!
aweseome ! time & temp ?
I prefer to bake chicken thighs at 425 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Hope that helps!
I have the chicken marinating in the fridge since last night! I’m super excited to try this recipe. Even my six year old said the marinade (before putting the chicken in) was delicious!
Awesome! We all know pleasing 6-year olds can be tough! 🙂
I made this tonight and it was delicious. My family loved it, I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you Chungah!
Awesome, Janna! Thanks so much for sharing!
I love your recipes!!!!! I wonder if I can make this Keto friendly….will try and wish me luck friend
Thai basis substitute??? HELP. Asian market is distance prohibitive and regular supermarket does not carry. Could probably purchase a plant at nursery but cannot wait for it to grow enough for me to make this receipt ASAP.
Hi Linda! You can substitute Italian (or sweet) basil but as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications. Hope that helps!
Try using the cilantro stems and roots for a true thai flavor.
Thank you for this suggestion! I’m growing my own basil and was wondering if I HAD to purchase Thai basil rather than use what I’m growing. And since we LOVE cilantro in my family, this will be PERFECT!
This looks amazing. Can’t wait to make this.
The cilantro lime chicken thighs are on repeat at our house. I bet this will too!
oh this looks so so delicious!!!