Grilled Chicken With Aromatic Herbs

The kids love chicken. Everybody in my family loves chicken. Which is something good, because chicken contains good protein - it has all the essential amino acids in the correct proportions required by the body for optimum growth of lean, calorie burning tissue. Chicken is a very healthy food only if you remove the chicken skin, of course. If you check out the pictures and recipes of the chicken dishes in this blog, you will see all the chicken skins removed. Why? Because the chicken skin contains all the saturated fat and cholesterol. So, when you cook chicken dishes, make sure to remove all the skin.

Grilling is a healthy and easy way to cook a dish. This way, the fats contained in the meat will drip down (discard the oil), and the remaining meat will be healthier. The secret to making good grilled chicken is in the marinade. This is where your creativity comes in. You can use a lot of different spices, condiments, seasonings and herbs.

For this dish, I mainly used some of the herbs from my garden to include in the marinade. This is such an easy recipe to do, if you have food processor, that is. If not, you simply have to pound the herbs to make the paste/marinade.

1 Kilo chicken pieces, skin removed, washed and chopped to serving sizes

2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
a handful of coriander leaves
3 - 4 pcs bird's eye chillies (use more or less according to your preference)
4 T garlic
1 stalk scallions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 T canola oil
1/2 T turmeric powder
some sugar (if you prefer it a little sweet, this is optional)


1. Pulse all the marinade ingredients (all the ingredients listed, except the chicken) in the food processor. Or pound them together to make a paste.

2. Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours or more (covered, in the refrigerator).

3. Grill the chicken over hot coals, electric grilling machine, or like me, simply use the Turbo Broiler (15 minutes). Chicken is cooked when juices run clear if meat is pierced.


Easy to do, isn't it? If you're anticipating a busy day ahead, you can make a big batch and store in the freezer. Take it out when needed. Hubby and kids declared this dish yummy! It is fragrant, aromatic, and when cooked at the right time, the meat is soft and tender juicy. Nothing brings satisfaction to a home-chef but to see your dish finished with gusto.




This is my entry to this month's Eat Healthy event featuring protein-rich dishes. This event showcases dishes that are healthy and easy to prepare. Head over to Sangeeth's Art of Cooking Indian Food for the round-up at the end of the month.