Gai Yang Chicken is a Thai grilled chicken recipe featuring a spicy lemongrass marinade. Use boneless chicken thighs and you can make this flavorful Asian BBQ in less than 45 minutes!

There’s nothing more satisfying than firing up the grill or oven to make a good Chinese or Thai BBQ recipe for a quick and easy meal. 

Whether it’s Chinese barbecue pork, sticky short ribs, or tasty char siu bao pork buns, the Asian flavors always bring me back for more.

Of all the Thai grilled chicken recipes out there, Gai Yang chicken is a must-make. After a short bath in a spicy marinade, boneless chicken thighs are placed on the grill. They cook just long enough to create a char on the outside while remaining tender and juicy.

Using boneless chicken cuts the cooking time in half, so the meal is perfect for a busy weeknight or a relaxing weekend.

Gai Yang Chicken – Ingredient Notes

• Boneless chicken thighs– When I’m grilling chicken, I prefer to use thigh meat because it’s higher in fat than breast meat. The fat helps prevent the poultry from becoming too dry.
  
  This being said, you can use breasts if you prefer them. The recipe also works with bone-in chicken, but it requires additional cooking time.

• Lemongrass paste– For convenience (and because it’s easier to find), I use lemongrass paste sold in a tube. It’s located in the produce section of most grocery stores. Actual lemongrass stalks will work as well
  
• Fresh garlic cloves– Minced garlic sold in a jar works as well
  
• Red chili flakes and chilis– Any type of red chili pepper is fine, but flakes will give you better flavor than ground red pepper. For the peppers, I use Fresno chilis or red jalapenos
  
• Fish sauce– This is a popular Asian condiment with an earthy, umami flavor. Good substitutes are soy or tamari sauce, coconut aminos, or worcestershire sauce
  
• Sake or Chinese cooking wine– There are just 2 tablespoons needed, so if you don’t have any on hand, feel free to skip it. Regular white wine works too
  
• Sesame oil– This oil is used in almost all Asian recipes and its flavor is unique, so there aren’t many substitutes for it. If you must use a different oil, choose something with a neutral flavor, like vegetable oil

Video: How to Make Thai Grilled Chicken

To see how simple gai yang chicken is to make, just watch my video, located in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Cooking Tips for Gai Yang Chicken

1. Marinate the chicken.
   Massage to spread the marinade over all the chicken for at least 30 minutes to 24 hours in the refrigerator. This infuses it with the flavors and helps tenderize the meat.

2. Discard the marinade after using.
   After removing the poultry from the marinade, you can brush the marinade onto the meat as it grills. After that, you should promptly toss it out.

Cooking Times for Grilled Chicken

Chicken is considered safe to eat when the internal temperature at the thickest portion reaches 165°F. Because it continues to cook for a couple of minutes as it rests, you can remove it from the heat when the internal temp is 163°F. 

Here are approximate cooking times for chicken grilled at 350°F.

• Boneless thighs: Grill for 4 minutes per side, then check the internal temp.
• Bone-in thighs: Grill for 6 minutes per side, then check the internal temp.
• Boneless breasts: Grill for 5 minutes per side, then check the internal temp.
• Bone-in breasts: Grill for 7 minutes per side, then check the internal temp.

Serving Suggestions

Spicy grilled chicken pairs well with almost any side you’re craving, from simple baked potatoes to fried rice or a healthy stir fry salad.

To counter the spicy heat of gai yang chicken, serve sides with fresh fruit. Grilled pineapple planks or Thai mango salad are flavorful sweet options, and both are really simple to make, too!