Unconventional Grilling For Dad - Korean Style BBQ Chicken

When the Chef made this dish for me last summer it was love at first bite.  I have always been a fan of lettuce wraps, but appreciate them even more since having to maintain a gluten-free diet.  Can you imagine what it's like not to be able to eat a bbq'd hamburger or hotdog in a bun all summer?  Well don't give yourself nightmares over it because I've had enough for all of us.

I know there are all different types of dad situations out there.  Young dads, older dads, you may be married and have children so do something special with your husband, you may have a brother who has children and so spend the day with him and his family - whatever the case may be - we decided to throw down this Korean Style BBQ Chicken recipe in time for the weekend in case you're looking for something a little different to pull out on Father's day.  We're giving you every piece to the recipe including the sauces! And btw ladies - if you're like me and your fam is far away - just make it for yourself!  If you're a non-meat eater you can substitute eggplant or tofu for the chicken.  So get ready and fire up that grill!

Ingredients
4 chicken thighs (you can use any chicken pieces you like skin on or off)
*You could also use beef, shrimp or eggplant or tofu for our non-meat eaters :)

*Marinade Ingredients
2T      sriracha (or any red chili paste)
1T      paprika
1t       chili flakes
1        jalapeno sliced
4        ea scallion slice white part only
3        limes juiced
6        clove garlic crushed
3T      ginger sliced
1/2     bunch cilantro
1/2C  grapeseed oil (use any oil you like)
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes
1       head butter lettuce leaves
2       ea radishes sliced
1ea   serrano, banana, red jalapeño pepper sliced
1/2    cucumber cut in sticks
1/4    bunch cilantro leaves
1/2    avocado sliced
4ea    scallion slice green part only

rice noodles (follow your bag for prep instructions)

Sauces
*Peanut Sauce
2T     peanut butter
2t      Ginger fine mince
2cl     garlic fine mince
1t      sriracha
1/4    lime juiced
1ea    scallion slice green part only
water
3T     oil
salt and pepper to taste

*Jalapeño Lime Sauce
1/2     jalapeño seeded
2        limes juiced
5cl     garlic
1/4     bunch cilantro
2ea     scallion whole
1T      water
1/4C   oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Begin by cleaning the chicken thighs:

and toss them into a ziploc like so:

Set them over to the side and grab your ingredients to make the marinade.

Chop and dice as the Chef has listed above until you come out with this - I'm listing step by step pictures because, for me, I'd want to see the how small/large to make the cuts:

Combine the chopped ingredients with chicken in the large ziploc bag.  Add to it the squeezed lime, sriracha, paprika, chili flakes, grapeseed oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Zip up the bag, set it on a plate, and let it marinate in the refrigerator rotating every hour for a minimum of 5 hours or overnight.

While the chicken is marinating you can gather and cut the garnishes and arrange on a platter like so:

Cover with a damp paper towel and place in fridge.  We also tore the lettuce leaves at this point and had them in a covered bowl in the fridge as well.  Might as well get everything ready so once the grilling is over you just set it all out and eat!

Now to prepare the Peanut and Jalapeño Lime Sauce.
*For the Peanut Sauce:  combine all items except water and oil.  Next add the water slowly until the mixture is smooth (the amount of water will vary). Finally, whisk in the oil and season with salt and pepper.

For the Jalapeño Lime Sauce:  combine all ingredients except oil in food processor or blender. Purée until smooth and then slowly drizzle in oil.

Once the chicken has marinated and the coals have been lit, prepare the rice noodles according to the instructions on the package.  When we were at the store they only had bean threads so we just used those.  It's as simple as putting them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them.  Just allow them to stand for 20 minutes before draining and you're good to go.

We grill over charcoal vs. a gas bbq and the Chef made note to place the chicken around the coals and not directly on top so you don't burn the daylights out of them.

Just looking at that picture is bringing back memories of the great smell the chicken made while it was grilling!   Note that the outside of the chicken will char slightly in the grilling process and that's fine.  It brings out a very desirable flavor - just be careful not to burn it.

Once the chicken is fully grilled pull it off the barbecue and let it cool for a few minutes until you can comfortably slice it.  Think slices that will fit comfortably into lettuce wraps - something like this:

I know this dish has what seems like a lot of steps, but it is so easy to prepare.  I guess it could also help if you had an extra set of hands in the kitchen to help chop everything up...just a thought.

Here's where all the pre-chopping will become so handy because you just whip everything out of the fridge and set it out.  You can serve this very simply in a buffet style.  We just place the dishes in the basic order the wraps will be assembled and it really can be kind of like an assembly line!

I didn't think to get it going horizontally rather than vertically.  Sorry about that!  But you get the basic idea.  And quite frankly - THIS is what's most important...the end product.

Yum!  I can't even begin to describe.  And hopefully I won't have to because you'll get to try them out yourselves - whether it's this weekend or some other time over the summer.  *Note - we didn't do a cocktail with this one because after all that chopping (and in honor of dads) - a beer goes down just nicely.  I have to have gluten-free beer which, for me being a Canadian, is just not the same.  So I went with water and a blood orange soda, but after that warehouse denim debacle the Chef deserved the beer - probably a whole case!!

Enjoy everyone.  Let us know if you try it and how it works out.  Don't hesitate to email or comment with any questions on the prep and we're happy to help.  This is one that I can easily answer on too because, though you wouldn't know it from these posts, I do have some skills in the kitchen. :)