Chicken is good with a little salt and pepper, but a pro always marinates their chicken in advance. The two recipes provided is a spicy curry yogurt based marinade and a Thai green curry yogurt based marinade. Both recipes are technically the same in preparation except one will have the ingredients blended together. Maybe I should’ve diversified the recipes, but I’m very biased.

Marinated chicken thighs with seared vegetables.

What is a marinade?

Marinade is a flavorful liquid that is built with either acid, enzymes, or a neutral pH, which is then used to soak the protein you’re going to cook in the future to heighten taste and tenderization, breaking down proteins and muscle tissues. Marination! Some might even say marination is “slow cooking”, because the flavors are being developed overtime.

Acidic Marinades

The base of an acidic marinade is a neutral fat paired with an acid. Citrus juice, vinegar, wine. The ratio is typically one part acid, one part spices, and two parts neutral fat. For example, shrimp marinating in a lemon juice, cajin seasoning, and olive oil marinade. Okay, yum!

Enzymic Marinades

Neutral enzymes are another type of marinade made with pureed fruit, such as papaya or pineapple, or yogurt. Herbs and seasonings are added as well. A yogurt base is biasedly my favorite type of marinade, as it preserves and softens protein the best out of any other ingredient or method.

Marinating Protein

The rule of thumb is to marinate seafood 30-60 minutes, chicken 1-2 days, and steak or pork for 2 days or more. However, I’ve marinated chicken for five days, it was delicious as ever! Then of course tofu and tempeh are absolutely fire marinated. When I was in culinary school, I marinated tofu in a pineapple marinade with curry spices for a day and it blew me away!

Pineapple curry marinated tofu. Seared and served on top of fragrant curry and brown rice!

Meal prepping at home, my go to protein is chicken thighs. Always chicken thighs. One time I used chicken breasts. It was okay, but it was kind of weird after being so used to the thighs. And I always always marinate it in a yogurt base. Not kosher, but G-d forgives me.

Cooking Methods after Marinating

Now your protein is fully flavored from marination, the only thing you need to do next is just cook it! A simple pan fry is the way to go, but there’s also grilling and roasting. However, a method that will take your protein to the next level is cooking on an open fire. Let the flame kiss all over it!

Don’t be fooled by the flavors hiding all the bacteria, the protein needs to be cooked up to the same internal temperature as how it normally would be. Y’know, chicken 160 degrees F, seafood 145 degrees F, and steak at least 130 degrees F?

Thai Green Curry Marinated Chicken

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Prep Time 10

Marinating Time 1

Total Time 1

Servings: 3 servings

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian Fusion

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

Marinade

3 Stalks Green onion rough chop
1/4 Medium Red onion rough chop
2 Cloves Garlic
2 Tbsp Ginger peeled
1/4 Cup Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp Fish sauce
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp Dried shrimp optional
to taste Salt and pepper

Other Ingredients

1.5 lbs Chicken Thighs
1 Stalk Lemon grass
4 whole Thai chilis
2 Tbsp Olive oil for cooking

Equipment

1 Blender
1 Cutting Board
1 Chef Knife
1 Large bowl
1 Pair of tongs or gloves For mixing
1 Large ziplock bag
1 Frying pan with lid
1 Tongs or spatula For searing

Method

Blend all the ingredients listed for the marinade until liquefied.
Mix together the marinade with chicken thighs, lemon grass, and Thai chilis. Store and marinade up to 3 days. Cook after one day for best flavor.
To cook, heat up frying pan on high heat with olive oil. Sear chicken on both sides until beautifully colored and a little charred. Cover with the lid to steam as needed. Internal temperature should be no less than 160 degrees F, or cooked at least 5 minutes.

Lisa on goodhumblefoodie.com

Spicy Curry Marinated Chicken