The hardest part about making this super flavourful Asian inspired Chilli Lime and Ginger Chicken Chicken is the waiting for it to be cooked
Marinated magic
Just hearing the name of this dish makes me want to drool! Chilli Lime and Ginger chicken, what a flavour bomb combination! Such delicious flavour that can be made easily at home.
Just throw in the chicken in this glorious Asian inspired marinade and let it work its magic!
Whilst the chicken is cooking, your senses will be delighted with the aromas of garlic, ginger, chilli and lime, wait, can you even smell lime?…. Anyway, get ready to sink your teeth into some seriously succulent and flavoursome chicken. It’s guaranteed to knock your sexy socks off!
Once marinated you can grill, bake or barbeque this chicken, it’s too easy! I love throwing it on a hot smokey charcoal barbeque and getting someone else to cook it for me.
Sweet, spicy, salty, savoury, sour and crunch from the peanuts, this dish has it all.
Bone-in chicken and Asian cooking
When we visited Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia I noticed that most of their chicken dishes that we ordered came bone-in. Regardless if we ordered soups, stirfry or barbeque chicken, whole chicken was used and not boneless fillets. Cooking with the bone keeps the flesh moist and adds more flavour.
Over here, it’s more common to use boneless fillets. Even when dining in Asian restaurants the bones are conveniently removed for us. Truthfully, I prefer to eat fillets when I’m dining out because I have no dining etiquette and would make a mess of myself if I had to remove bones.
At home, I cook with both boneless and bone-in chicken depending on the dish I’m cooking. When it comes to marinating meat for 2 hours or longer I prefer to use bone-in as it’s unlikely to dry the chicken when cooked. Cooking chicken on the bone does take longer to cook but it’s absolutely worth the wait if you want juicy and tender chicken.
There’s no need to use expensive cuts of chicken for this dish, you can use a mix of drumsticks, wings and thighs or use a whole chicken that’s been chopped into even portions.
If you love flavourful dishes, then you’re going to love these dishes:
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Papaya Salad with Prawns
Korean-style Pork Ribs
Red Duck Curry with Lychees
Bake, grill or barbeque
Another thing I’ve learned whilst travelling to Southeast Asian countries is that they rarely use ovens. Meats are often cooked by charcoal barbeque or grilling (broiling) not baked.
If given a choice I would always choose to grill or barbeque marinated meat. This way I have more control of the cooking and browning of the meat. The downside is because we’re dealing with direct heat I would have to constantly monitor the cooking process so it doesn’t burn.
With an attention-seeking 18-month-old toddler glued to my leg, I had no choice but to bake my chicken but it still came out delicious.
Ingredients for Chilli Lime and Ginger Chicken
Mixed Chicken Pieces – To keep the chicken juicy use bone-in pieces. Use thighs, drumsticks or a mix of chicken pieces but make sure they are roughly the same size for even cooking.
Chillies – Make sure to adjust the chillies to suit your taste or if you prefer a non-spicy dish just leave it out. You can use any kind of red or green chillies but keep in mind that each variety has a different level of spiciness to them.
Soy sauce – Regular or light soy sauce (not dark) can be used.
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How to make Chilli Lime and Ginger Chicken
Step by step guide with photos
Using paper towels pat the chicken dry. Optional – For deeper flavours, use a sharp knife to make a few deep cuts into the chicken flesh right up to the bone.
In a food processor place in ginger, garlic and chilli and blend the spices until finely chopped.
In a large bowl, add the blended spices, sugar, soy sauce, oil, fish sauce, lime juice and zest, salt and pepper and mix well. Add in the chicken and cover it well with the marinade mixture. Cover the bowl with cling (plastic) wrap and place in the fridge, allow the chicken to marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Line a large tray with foil and place a baking rack on top.
Optional – The spices may burn when baking, to prevent this from happening, remove the spices from the chicken with a paper towel prior to baking.
Place the chicken on the baking rack, making sure that no pieces are touching. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until cooked through. For even browning, turn the chicken a few times during cooking. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes then transfer to a plate and top it with peanuts and coriander. Serve with rice, salad or vegetables.
Leftovers – Allow the chicken to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the chicken to a sealed container and keep it in the fridge, it’ll keep for up to 3 days.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Watch my Chinese Salt and Pepper Fish Video
Chilli Lime and Ginger Chicken Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 kilo chicken pieces (NOTE 1)
- 70 gm ginger (7cm peeled, roughly chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 small red chillies (NOTE 2)
- 1 large lime (juiced and finely zested)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (NOTE 3)
- 1 tbsp peanut oil (or any neutral oil)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup salted roasted peanuts (chopped)
- ½ cup coriander leaves
Optional garnish
- radish (sliced thinly)
- cucumber (sliced thinly)
Instructions
- In a food processor place in ginger, garlic and chilli and blend the spices until finely chopped. Using paper towels pat the chicken dry. Optional – For deeper flavours, use a sharp knife to make a few deep cuts into the chicken flesh right up to the bone.
- In a large bowl, add the blended spices, sugar, soy sauce, oil, fish sauce, lime juice and zest, salt and pepper and mix well. Add in the chicken and cover it well with the marinade mixture. Cover the bowl with cling (plastic) wrap and place in the fridge, allow the chicken to marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Line a large tray with foil and place a baking rack on top. Optional – The spices may burn when baking, to prevent this from happening, remove the spices from the chicken with a paper towel prior to baking.Place the chicken on the baking rack, making sure that no pieces are touching. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until cooked through. For even browning, turn the chicken a few times during cooking. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes then transfer to a plate and top it with peanuts and coriander. Serve with rice, salad or vegetables.
