Grilled Hilltribe Chicken with Kua Txob
Before You Begin
- 1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1½ teaspoons granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 cup haam choy (pickled mustard greens)
- ¼ cup pickled red onions
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, torn into large pieces
- 2 scallions, sliced thin
- 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems, chopped
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon lime juice (2 limes)
- 1 red Fresno chile, stemmed and minced
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Place chicken breast side down on cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut along length of 1 side of backbone. Flip chicken breast side up and open chicken on board. Using palm of your hand, press firmly on center of breast to flatten chicken. Tuck wingtips under breasts.
- Combine salt, granulated garlic, pepper, and paprika in bowl. Season chicken all over with spice mixture.
- Combine all ingredients in bowl; set aside.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4½ quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes. FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken in center of grill, skin side up. Cover and cook until breasts register 135 degrees, 35 to 45 minutes. Flip chicken skin side down and cook until skin is browned and breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register at least 175 degrees, about 15 minutes longer. FOR A GAS GRILL: Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken in center of grill, skin side up. Cover and cook until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register at least 175 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to carving board, skin side up, and let rest for 20 minutes. Carve chicken and arrange on serving platter. Place haam choy and onions on side of platter. Sprinkle chicken with cilantro leaves, mint, and scallions. Serve with kua txob.
Note that if you’re cooking the chicken on a gas grill, there is no need to flip it to brown the skin; unlike with a charcoal grill, which loses heat over time, heat in a gas grill continues to build. When butterflying the chicken in step 1, we cut along only one side of the backbone and do not remove it. Chef Yia Vang, who inspired this recipe, calls the meat on the backbone “chef snacks.” Haam choy is the pickled mustard green that's sold whole or halved in brine; it can be found in Asian markets. You can use jarred pickled red onions, such as Mezzetta brand, or you can make your own. The kua txob (pronounced “kuwah-tsaw” and meaning “pepper sauce”) should have a little bit of heat to it, though the lime juice does a lot to balance this out. We like to leave the seeds in the red Fresno chile when chopping it, but if you prefer a milder sauce, you can remove the seeds first. A red jalapeño or one or two Thai chiles can be substituted for the Fresno.
