Recipe video above. This Thai Chicken recipe is an easy way to make Gai Yang at home, Thailand’s famous barbecue chicken. It uses a fragrant Thai marinade that delivers street-stall delicious – without pounding pastes, lighting coals or wrestling a whole chicken! Cook on the stove though it's especially great on the BBQ.A dipping sauce isn’t essential because the marinade already brings big flavour and keeps the chicken super juicy. But in Thailand it’s traditional, so why not? Spoon it over or dunk away!Serve with Coconut Rice and swoon!
Recipe by Nagi | RecipeTin Eats on November 26, 2025
Prep time: PT8M
Cook time: PT12M
Total time: PT20M
Rating
4.98 stars (85 reviews)
Keywords
gai yang, thai BBQ chicken, Thai chicken, thai chicken marinade, thai grilled chicken, Thai street food chicken
1 large lemongrass stalk (, white part only, reedy outer layers removed, sliced 5mm / 1/5" thick (Note 2 tube paste sub))
4 cloves garlic (, peeled (whole))
2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce (, or any all-purpose soy or tamari (Note 3))
2 tsp dark soy sauce ((Note 3))
3 tbsp (tightly packed) brown sugar or palm sugar
2 tbsp oil (, vegetable, canola, or any other neutral flavoured oil)
Nam Jim Jaew (- traditional Thai Dipping Sauce for meat *RECOMMENDED*)
Lime Sweet Chilli Sauce
Bottle of sweet chilli sauce
Lime wedges
Red chili (, finely sliced (optional))
Cilantro / coriander leaves ((optional))
Coconut rice
Categories
Barbecue
BBQ
Chicken
Grilling
Cuisine
Thai
Steps
Blitz - Place Marinade ingredients EXCEPT oil in a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until lemongrass and garlic is fully pureed. (No stick blender? Finely grate lemongrass and garlic, then mix)
Marinate - Pour in a bowl. Add oil, stir. Add chicken, toss to thoroughly coat. Cover and marinate overnight (my bare minimum is 3 hours). No marinating time? Finely slice, toss in marinade then cook like a stir-fry.
Heat the outdoor BBQ grill on high or a non stick pan over high heat on the stove.
Cook - Remove chicken from the Marinade and discard the Marinade (unless baking in the oven - refer Note 3). Put chicken on the BBQ or in the pan, then turn heat down to medium (sweet marinade = prone to burning). Cook the chicken until golden brown - around 5 to 6 minutes on each side. (If it burns, flip straight away. You can flip repeatedly, as needed.)
Rest and serve - Rest for 3 minutes. Serve alongside a mound of steamy coconut rice with lime wedges, garnished with fresh chilies and coriander/cilantro, and your chosen sauce.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 280 kcal
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Protein: 39 g
Fat: 11 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Trans Fat: 0.05 g
Cholesterol: 190 mg
Sodium: 596 mg
Sugar: 3 g
Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
Reviews
Carol on 2026-04-05 (5 stars): I marinated tiger prawns in this marinade for over an hour and then bbq’d them on bamboo skewers. They were delicious and will be on our Good Friday menus forever!!! Thank you Nagi xx
Carol on 2026-03-22 (5 stars): Absolutely delicious!!! Served with Coconut Rice and Vermicelli Noodle Salad - perfection on a plate! Coming up to Easter and wondering if I can use the marinade for prawns?
jess shadburne on 2026-02-28 (5 stars): This marinade/grilled Thai chick the bomb
Karissa on 2026-01-26 (5 stars): Holy moly — this recipe is seriously amazing! I made the nam jim jaew sauce and coconut rice to go with it and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Currently wondering how soon is too soon to make it again 😂
Kimberly on 2026-01-22 (5 stars): I really enjoyed this recipe, and will be making it again for sure.
Mandy on 2026-01-14 (5 stars): Super easy and super delicious. Used thigh cut into bite sizes pieces as didn't have enough time to marinate, stir fried in batches with the marinade which made a nice sauce over the rice. Used a tablespoon of Valcom lemongrass (jar) instead of fresh.
Served over coconut rice. Yum!
Agnes on 2026-01-02 (5 stars): This is going to be my new go-to chicken recipe. It’s so delicious, we almost fought for the last piece, and so easy to make.
Tip: make more than you would regularly would, it’s that good. And my guess is that it’s probably also very good cold in a salad if there were any leftovers…
Wendy on 2025-12-29 (5 stars): Gai yang just amazing
Ginny K on 2025-12-19 (5 stars): Hello Nagi. I love your recipes. I plan to make this, this weekend. Can I use frozen chopped lemongrass (I have in my freezer)? If so, how much would you use. Thank You.
Stacey-Leigh Fawaz on 2025-12-18 (5 stars): What an incredible dish! I paired it with the Thai Dipping Sauce (Nam Jim Jaew), and my husband absolutely devoured it. The recipe was wonderfully simple yet packed with flavour. I ended up using basmati rice since I’d run out of jasmine, and it was still delicious. Next time, I’m excited to try it with coconut rice. Thank you, Nagi, for another outstanding recipe, we loved every bite!
LauraC on 2025-12-17 (5 stars): Made this tonight with boneless breasts. Marinated about 8 hours, then grilled. Served over Nagi’s coconut rice with stir fried veggies and Nan Jim Jaew dipping sauce. Fantastic dinner, everyone loved it!
