Kai Yang

There’s hardly a definitive recipe for any dish, and certainly not kai yang, which is sometimes referred to as Thai barbecue chicken. Variations abound, but you’ll always find salty notes (often from fish sauce, soy sauce or Thai seasoning); sweet notes (from palm sugar or coconut milk); and a range of accents like lemongrass, garlic and galangal or ginger. This recipe is adapted from Sheree Sarabhaya, the chef and owner of Kai Yang restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey. She refrigerates whole chickens in a fragrant, salty marinade with turmeric, ginger, lemongrass and cilantro for 24 hours, then roasts them in a rotisserie oven, allowing the scent to permeate the dining room. You can achieve spectacular results at home by basting the chicken as it cooks, encouraging it to soak up the seasoning. Traditionally served with green papaya salad and sticky rice, this chicken can also be used as a substitute for standard rotisserie chicken to liven up soups, sandwiches and salads.

Ingredients

• 1 packed cup fresh cilantro leaves (about 1 ounce)
• 0.5 cup oyster sauce
• 0.3333333333333333 cup Thai seasoning sauce (such as Golden Mountain); see Tip
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (preferably Thai black soy sauce like Kwong Hung Seng)
• 2 tablespoons ground turmeric
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
• 0.25 cup/1 ounce minced lemongrass (from about 3 trimmed stems; see Tip)
• 1 thick, large (4-inch) piece fresh ginger, scrubbed and sliced (no need to peel)
• 1 small whole chicken (3 ½ to 4 pounds)

Steps

1. Prepare the marinade: To a blender, add the cilantro, oyster sauce, seasoning sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, turmeric, sugar, pepper and salt. Blend until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Add the lemongrass and ginger and purée until smooth, about 30 seconds more. (The marinade makes about 2 cups, which is double the amount that you’ll need. Freeze 1 cup for a future chicken.)
2. Pat the chicken dry, then set it in a rimmed sheet pan. (If you’ve got disposable gloves handy, now is the time to use them!) Add about ¼ cup marinade to the chicken’s cavity and massage to distribute it. Flip the chicken breast side down, then drizzle with about ¼ cup marinade and rub to distribute. Finally, flip the chicken breast-side up and drizzle all exposed chicken with the remaining ½ cup marinade, allowing it to pool on top. (There is no need to massage it at this point; you want a thick coat.) Refrigerate the chicken, uncovered, for 24 hours. (The liquid will pool over time. That’s OK. No need to pour it over the chicken again.)
3. Transfer the marinated chicken to an aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, allowing any excess marinade to drip off first, and set the chicken breast side up. (Discard any liquid left on the original sheet pan.)
4. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Roast the chicken until the juices run clear (not pink) when the meat is pierced with a knife, 60 to 75 minutes. Starting at 40 minutes, baste the chicken with its juices every 10 minutes by carefully tipping the sheet pan so the juices collect in the corner, then spooning them over the chicken.
5. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces, then serve.