Suchit's Thai Marinade for Grilled Chicken

My friend Suchit is from Thailand. She says that, for the Thai people, the first choice for the cilantro in this dish would be to use cilantro roots instead of stems. But, since that is not always available where she lives now, she makes this delicious marinade with cilantro stems. Do not use the cilantro leaves, save those for making the dipping sauce (link below).

The nutrition facts for the marinade were created at Calorie Count.

Thai Marinade for Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts or 8 thighs

One batch marinade

Marinade Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce, low sodium
1/4 cup cilantro stems or roots* (no leaves)
2 T garlic, minced
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Optional: 1 T ginger, sliced and smashed

Directions:

Add the marinade ingredients to a large zip lock bag.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel (do not rinse chicken) and add to the marinade, remove air, seal and refrigerate for anywhere from 4 hours to overnight.

Remove the bag from the refrigerator and heat coals on a grill. Remove the chicken from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until the juices run clear - turn frequently.

Serve with Thai Dipping Sauce and enjoy mindfully with a skewer of grilled veggies and a bit of lovely brown basmati rice.

Lemongrass Marinade for Shrimp

Nutrition facts were set for one shrimp and an estimate that 1/4 t oil would be retained by one shrimp. The nutrition facts were made at Calorie Count.

Lemongrass Marinade for Shrimp

Ingredients:

1/4 cup good quality olive oil

1 T Ground Chili and Garlic Sauce* – or equivalent amount of ground chilis and ground garlic
1 T chopped fresh garlic

1 4 inch stem fresh lemongrass – peel the outer layers, rinse, and smash with a mallet, do not chop

1 T fresh lime juice
1 T low sodium soy sauce

¼ t fresh cracked black peppercorns

smashed lemongrass stem

12 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and rinsed

*Ground Chili and Garlic Sauce found in the Asian section of your grocers. Look for the little jars with a rooster drawing on it. If you prefer, you can sub in Sriracha sauce.

Directions:

Mix the oil, chili and garlic sauce, the stems of lemongrass, lime juice, soy sauce, black peppercorns and place in a zip lock bag. Prepare the shrimp and add to the bag. Squish out as much air as you can and seal the bag. Marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours before grilling. Discard all remaining marinade after skewering the shrimp.

Janice's Louisiana Style Marinade for Shrimp

Calories for marinades is difficult to determine. Most of the marinade does not stay with the food to be cooked. I used 1/4 t of olive oil as a reasonable estimate of oil calories added to the shrimp and have set the nutrition facts for one shrimp at Calorie Count.

Louisiana Style Marinade for Shrimp 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup good quality olive oil
1/4 cup white wine

1 T Paul Prudhomme’s Toasted Onion and Garlic seasoning – can substitute ground garlic and onion
1 t dried parsley or 2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T chopped fresh garlic

¼ t fresh cracked black peppercorns
1 T lime juice

Dash or three of hot pepper sauce, oh what the hey, make it a whole bunch of hot pepper sauce!

12 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and rinsed

Directions:

Mix oil and seasonings. Place in a zip lock bag. Add the prepared shrimp, press out the excess air and seal. Marinade in the fridge for 1-2 hours before grilling. Discard all remaining marinade after skewering the shrimp.