Grilled Chicken Khmer Style

When it comes to grilled chicken, this is the best dish for Khmer people. Normally we eat this grilled chicken when there’re family or relative gathering, parties. In Cambodian there’re two big types of chicken, chicken raise by family (Country Chicken - Morn Sre) or chicken raise by the farm. Chicken that raise by family may appear smaller and maybe walk on the ground freely around you. It tastes far better than the chicken raise in the farm and also more expensive.

Grilled Chicken

There’re different style in grilling the chicken in Cambodia. If you ever walk around Cambodia the grilled chicken that they sell in most of the resort is not actually a grilled chicken. It just a deep-fry the whole chicken and made it appear like grilled chicken. Even in restaurant in Phnom Penh they deep-fry the chicken but in their menu it appears as GRILLED CHICKEN. Why they do like this? Because it faster to deep-fry chicken to fulfill the customer needs. So it not easy for you to taste the real grilled chicken, only if you do it yourself - DIY.

Deep Fried Chicken

The main ingredient for cooking the grilled chicken are, chicken, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galanga, black pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, red onion, seasoning powder (Knor). For sauce you can choose between mixed fish sauce and black pepper mix with salt and lime juice (We will talk about the sauce later).

Grilled Chicken With Coke

Some people would add a can of coke to their grilled chicken so it will have made a better flavor and taste. To grill the chicken with coke, first mix the above ingredient together (black pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, red onion, seasoning powder – Knor) and marinate the chicken, then put some lemongrass sticks and kaffir lime leaves inside the chicken. Keep the marinated chicken for 15min before the grill process start. We will use a large port (can fit the whole chicken), it is ideal if you have a thick pot it will cook the chicken better than the thin one. Put lemongrass sticks, kaffir lime leaves, galangal at the bottom of the port, it can protect the chicken from burning and also provide the flavor.

Next put the chicken inside the pot and start the fire, and put some frying oil little bit and half can of the coke in and cover the pot. You need to check and turn your chicken often so the chicken can fully cook and marinate with the coke and the chicken turn into red color. If you chicken not fully cook after all the coke drained, pure the rest of the coke in and continue to cook your chicken. Some people might use coconut juice instead of coke.

Grilled Chicken with Coke

Grilled Chicken With Banana Flower

Banana Flower also one of the popular vegetable for Cambodian, it can eat it fresh or cooked. It widely used for Khmer Style salad or as a side vegetable and stew. Let’s return back to our topic, what so special about grilled chicken with banana flower is the flavor of grilled chicken that transfer to the banana flower making it a good side vegetable. Just peal the old layer out and cut in half and put it at the bottom of the pot under the chicken then you’re done. It an option to use coke since the banana flower may not go with the coke.

Grilled Chicken With Banana Flower

Interesting Style Grilling Chicken

Frying Oil Barrel (20L)

Below is my favorite way of cooking the grilled chicken. We will use frying oil barrel and straw in stead of a pot and cooker. What you need is a large frying oil barrel (20L) for cover the chicken and burn the straw outside this barrel.

There're nothing change to do with the chicken, you only need to marinate the chicken with the same ingredient. and hang the chicken with metal pole and put one bowl below the chicken to collect the juice drop of from the chicken (some people may use that to make sauce).

Hang chicken with a metal pole.

Next step cover the chicken with the frying oil barrel, you may need to cut open the barrel.

Cover the chicken with barrel.

Then burn the straw outside the barrel. Burn the straw slowly for 15 to 20 minutes depend on how big is the chicken. Remember to not make the big fire otherwise the chicken will turn into a coal.

Burning the straw outside the barrel

Grilled Chicken Inside Frying Oil Barrel!!!

One more interesting style to grilled the chicken is to grill inside a clay jar. I never try this one before, and it look interesting like the one using frying oil barrel as well. Burn a charcoal in the middle of the clay jar then hang the chickens at the edge of the jar. This way you can grilled many chickens in one time.