July 22, 2021

Sambal Chicken Skewers with Garlicky Mayo

Sambal Chicken Skewers with Garlicky Mayo are the bomb! The marinade is fabulous and creates a tangy, sweet, and spicy glaze on each morsel. Serve the chicken with the Garlicky Mayo and you’re all set for a helluva skewer experience!

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Sambal Chicken Skewer Ingredients

Chicken Skewer ingredients: light brown sugar, rice vinegar, hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek), fish sauce, sriracha, ginger, and chicken thighs

sauce ingredients combined together: brown sugar, rice vinegar, hot chili paste, fish sauce, sriracha and ginger

Organize all of the ingredients – chicken, brown sugar, vinegar, sambal oelek (or chili garlic sauce, whichever you have in your pantry), fish sauce, Sriracha, and ginger. Then mix all marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let marinate for 5-10 minutes.

Chicken Skewer Assembly

Remove chicken and thread 6-8 pieces on each skewer

Remove chicken and thread 6-8 pieces onto each skewer. (You can thread more or less pieces per skewer. It really depends on the size of your chicken pieces.)

Reducing Extra Marinade

Transfer leftover marinade to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half (about 1 cup), 7–10 minutes.

Garlicky Mayo

While marinade is reducing, make the Garlicky Mayo. Mix mayo, plain yogurt, lemon juice, anchovy, garlic, and black pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Then transfer mayo to a small/medium-sized serving bowl.

Grilling Skewers

turn skewers, and baste with reserved marinade

Grill chicken over medium-high heat, turning (using oven mitts or tongs) and basting often with reduced marinade, until cooked through and charred in spots, 8–10 minutes.

Sambal Chicken Skewers with Garlicky Mayo

Remove skewers from the grill and place on a large platter (or place two skewers on individual plates). Sprinkle jalapeño and cilantro on top of skewers and serve with Garlicky Mayo.

Print Recipe

Sambal Chicken Skewers with Garlicky Mayo

Prep Time20

Cook Time8

Total Time28

Course: Appetizer, dinner

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: asian-chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, chicken, chicken thighs, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, gluten free, mayonnaise, rice vinegar, sambal oelek, sriracha

Servings: 8 Skewers

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Equipment

8 skewers, preferably metal (if using bamboo, soak them in water for at least 1 hour to prevent them from burning)

Ingredients

Sambal Chicken Skewers

1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup sambal oelek or chili garlic sauce (1/4 cup if you want to reduce the heat level)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup Sriracha 2 tablespoons if you want to reduce the heat level
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger or 2 cubes of Trader Joes frozen ginger
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs removing as much fat as possible; cut into 1 1/2-inch–2-inch pieces
garnish with jalapeño or serrano pepper slices and cilantro or Thai basil leaves if desired

Garlicky Mayo

1 garlic clove finely grated or placed in a garlic press
1/2-1 anchovy fillet finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup yogurt plain, whole milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper and Kosher salt to season

Instructions

Sambal Chicken Skewers

Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
Mix brown sugar, vinegar, sambal oelek (or chili garlic sauce if that's what you have in your pantry), fish sauce, Sriracha, and ginger in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let marinate for 5-10 minutes.
Remove chicken and thread 6-8 pieces onto each skewer. (You can thread more or less pieces per skewer. It really depends on the size of your chicken pieces.)
Transfer leftover marinade to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half (about 1 cup), 7–10 minutes.
Grill chicken, turning (using oven mitts or tongs) and basting often with reduced marinade, until cooked through and charred in spots, 8–10 minutes.

Garlicky Mayo

While marinade is reducing, make the Garlicky Mayo. Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Then transfer mayo to a small/medium-sized serving bowl.

Serving

Remove skewers from the grill and place on a large platter (or place two skewers on individual plates). Sprinkle jalapeño and cilantro on top of skewers and serve with the Garlicky Mayo.

Notes

Garlicky Mayo can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store mayo in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

If there’s extra Garlicky Mayo, it’s a perfect dip for crudités.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be used in this recipe instead of chicken thighs. If using breasts, reduce the cooking time by a few minutes since breast meat cooks faster than thigh meat.

Recipe from Bon Appétit and slightly modified by me.

If you like this GFchow recipe, you may also like these recipes. Mojo Chicken with Charred Pineapple and Orange, Crispy Korean Fried Chicken Nuggets, and Crispy Harissa Chicken Thighs.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.