Grilled Thai BBQ Chicken and Veggies

Adapted from a recipe on About.com

Got this awesome little George Foreman grill from Walmart.com a week ago. It finally came in on Friday and I was so stoked to start grilling on it. It's a nice size grill but small enough that it's unobtrusive in my small 1-bedroom apartment. It's electric and can be used indoor or outdoor.

I'm in love with the Thai BBQ chicken at Whole Foods. It is a good day when they have it in their hot bar selection. Lately when I've been going, they have all this Turkey and Thanksgiving food. I decided to take matters in my own hands and make it myself. I googled for a recipe and found one on About.com. It's more savory than the Whole Foods version. It has a smoky, garlicky taste to the chicken. To compliment the chicken, I made a simple marinade for the veggies.

Ingredients:
Chicken:

• 4-6 Chicken Drumsticks

MARINADE:

• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce (OR 1 more Tbsp. regular soy sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp. sherry (cooking sherry works well too)
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns, crushed with pestle & mortar, OR coursely ground with coffee grinder or pepper mill
• 10 cloves garlic, minced

DIPPING SAUCE or GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar (OR other type of vinegar: white, white wine, or apple cider)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced OR 1/3 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili OR cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Veggies:

• 2 stalks of broccoli, cut
• 1 container of mushrooms, cut in half
• 1/2 white onion, sliced

MARINADE:

• 1/2 C olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 5 drops of sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp ground peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Chicken:
1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl and stir well to dissolve the sugar.
2. Add chicken drumsticks, turning several times to ensure the chicken is covered with marinade.
3. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate while you heat up the grill and prepare the dipping sauce. OR allow chicken to marinate overnight, or up to 24 hours.

4. To make the dipping sauce/glaze, place all the dipping sauce/glaze ingredients in a sauce pan. Stir and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low. Allow sauce to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken as it cooks and become tangy - a mixture of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy.
Tip: this sauce can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold, so you can easily make it ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until needed.

6. Brush your grill with a little vegetable oil, then grill the chicken, turning occasionally. Brush the chicken with the leftover marinade for the first 10 minutes or so, then discard marinade. (20-25 minutes cooking time)

Serve with the dipping sauce on the side, OR spoon a little sauce over each piece of chicken as a glaze before serving. This dish goes well with a salad or serve with rice.

Veggies:
1. Boil water on stovetop. When boiling, cook broccoli for 1 minute. Drain.
2. Combine broccoli, mushrooms, and onions in bowl.
3. Combine olive oil, garlic powder, peppercorn, salt, and sesame oil into a small bowl. Pour about half of marinade into veggies and coat them. Let marinade for 30 minutes.

4. Brush grill with a little vegetable oil, then grill veggies, turning occasionally. Brush the veggies with leftover veggie marinade. (10-15 minutes cooking time)