Thai Curry chicken kebabs

 It has been a long, wet winter this year and I've been itching to get out the grill. Now that I've brought out and de-winterized the grill I can't help myself but using it as much as possible. I have a ton of favorite foods to cook on the grill and I am excited to share them with you.  Last night I decided to make kebabs.  They take a little bit more time to prep than other foods but the cook time is greatly reduced due to the small size of the ingredients.  Kebabs are great for entertaining because you can easily prepare them ahead of time. I also love the versatility of kebabs.  There are so many veggies that can be added and the possibilities are only as limited as your imagination...or produce drawer.

 Something I often times do is make up a new recipe and try it out on unsuspecting dinner guests, but this time I decided to just make Matt suffer with my creations instead.  For this recipe I pretty much adapted a basic curry recipe into a marinade for the kebabs.  I only marinaded the chicken for about 20 minutes because I was busy baking my birthday cake but they still turned out wonderfully.  Coconut milk was the base of the marinade which added a lot of richness and depth to the chicken.  I also chose to use chicken thighs instead of breasts even tho they are harder to put on the kebabs. I prefer thighs as they are much richer in flavor and wont dry out as quickly if you happen to get a little side tracked.

The vegetable selection on these skewers was my own personal choices and based upon what I already had in the fridge.  Do not limit yourself to these choices. Also, I used sweet potato rounds, next time I will not do that because they did not cook properly and turned out a little crispy.  I still enjoyed them but I need to make the pieces smaller and flatter so they have more surface area on the grill itself.

Thai Curry chicken kebabs


2 lbs chicken thighs, cut into strips
1/2 can coconut milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbs chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp Thai curry paste
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch Garlic salt
1 tbs sugar*

Add all ingredients, marinate for 30 minutes to overnight.

*Note-  I did not put sugar in my marinade however I STRONGLY recommend it.

My vegetable selection

Red onion
Sweet potatoes
Bell pepper
Portobello Mushroom

To make the kebabs, soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.  Alternate chicken and vegetables on each skewer.  Grill for 4-6 minutes per side or as long as is needed to cook the firmest vegetable.

Dipping Sauce


1/2 can Coconut milk
1 tsp Thai Curry Paste
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2 tsp Samal Oelek
Ground black pepper

Add all ingredients, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook until about 1/3 - 1/2 volume or desired thickness.

 Don't Burn the Skewers!  How to prevent your skewers from burning on the grill.

Summertime Favorite - Corn on the grill

The weather is getting nicer which means its time to de-winterize the grill. One of my favorite things to grill is corn on the cob. The big reason for doing this is to lightly caramelize the sugars in the corn to enhance the sweetness without turning it to mush. There are 3 main ways of grilling corn and it really depends on personal preferances.

Cooing method 1 - Tin foil

Husk the corn, removing as much silk as possible and break off the stalk. Take a length of tin foil, place the corn in it and season with butter, salt and freshly ground pepper if desired. Roll the corn up in the foil and twist the ends, this will allow the corn to steam in the foil. Place over low direct heat for 15-20 minutes rotating every 5 minutes to prevent burning on any one side. The major advantages of this method is that the corn comes out seasoned and ready for people to unwrap and eat. It is easy to prepare in advance and does not require pre-soaking. Some people feel that cooking in the tin foil adds a slight metalic taste to the corn which may be unpleasant to some.

Cooking method 2 - In the husk

This method uses the actual husk of the corn to steam instead of foil. Also cooking directly in the husk adds a little smoky flavor from the husk cooking.

Pull the husk back slightly to remove as much silk as possible. Soak the ears in water for 15 minutes. Place the corn on direct heat rotating every 5 minutes to prevent burning on any one side. The husk will start to brown and potentially burn a little as well but that's just flavor being imparted to the corn. Cook for 15-20 minutes.

Cooking method 3 - Naked!

This method is best for really fresh corn, or for people who like the corn very lightly cooked. Pull the husk all the way back without removing it and place over direct heat rotating to prevent burning. This method will add the most caramelization to the corn and runs the greatest risk of burning. You can use the pulled back husk to turn the corn on the grill and it just looks cool sitting on the grill that way.

Personally I like to cook in the husk for a bit then placing on direct heat for caramelization. I like my corn nice and tender with a little char. Its hard to tell you how long to cook your corn. I do about 10-15 minutes in the husk and about 5 minutes out of the husk, I find this to be the best combination.