Hailing from southern Thailand, Thai Tumeric Chicken (Gai Yang Khamin) is lip-smackingly delicious street food that’s sweet, sticky and savoury. The marinade is unbelievably simple: garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce, turmeric powder and sugar. The turmeric really makes it!
Southern Thai Turmeric Chicken (Gai Yang Khamin)
This is a great one to marinade tonight and bake tomorrow, to bring authentic Thai flavours to your dinner table! It’s sweet but has layers of savoury, and is incredibly delicious for something so simple.
With the excellent street food in Thailand, it will come to no surprise that I found this during my travels. It’s a street food that hails from the south called Gai Yang Khamin, and is one of those recipes that tastes like it has way more ingredients in it than it does.
At the time I tried it, I didn’t know what it was called, though the mystery was solved through furious Googling for “yellow Thai grilled chicken” in my determination to replicate it back at home.
Street vendors grill this over smokey coals and use butterflied whole chicken. I bake it in the oven and use chicken thighs instead to make it Monday-night-friendly. This does not, however, compromise flavour – it is still ridiculously delicious!
Ingredients in Thai Turmeric Chicken
This is one of those recipes that tastes like it’s got way more ingredients in it that it does. I get a secret thrill out of finding recipes like this!!
For the juiciest, stickiest chicken with the best glaze, bone-in thighs are best. But I’ve provided directions for breast and other cuts.
Chicken – As noted above, skin-on, bone-in thighs are best because the time it takes for the skin to go sticky and golden is the same time it takes for the inside to cook through to juicy perfection. Leaner, boneless cuts, like breast and boneless thigh, cook through faster, before the surface has a chance to caramelise. However, I’ve provided directions for these – and you could always pan fry instead! Drumsticks are also an excellent, economical option – these work perfectly as a direct substitute.
Turmeric powder – Key flavour and colour for this dish. This is what makes this Thai Turmeric chicken!!
Fish sauce – Secret ingredient! Adds salt with extra layers of flavour so this otherwise simple marinade isn’t bland.
Oyster sauce – Second secret ingredient! Adds sweetness with savoury undertones.
Sugar – For extra sweetness.
Garlic – Quite a decent wack!
Pepper – I like the flavour white pepper brings to this but you can substitute with black pepper.
How to make Thai Turmeric Chicken
Pop this in the marinade tonight then bake it tomorrow! Marinade for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Then bake and baste until golden and sticky (45 minutes).
Mix the marinade in a bowl – garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and turmeric.
Marinade the chicken for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
Bake on a lined tray for 50 minutes until the surface is sticky and delicious.
Baste using the tray juices at the 30 minute mark….
Then baste again at the 40 minute mark and pop it back in for a final 10 minutes to caramelise the surface.
Garnish with fresh coriander/cilantro leave if you want (it’s just for looks), then serve using the pan juices as a sauce!
What to serve with Thai Turmeric Chicken
Serve this with a pile of steaming jasmine or coconut rice and plain chunks of cucumber and tomato, something you commonly see served as a vegetable side all over Thailand. The fresh crunch of cucumber and juiciness of tomato is a nice contrast to the sweet-savoury-meatiness of the chicken, with the added bonus that you don’t have to bother with a dressing. I’m not going to argue with that!
Though, if you are a better person than me and would like to make more of an effort for your side salad, you could toss any fresh or steamed greens with Asian Sesame Dressing (for a quick option). For a more substantial side salad, try Thai Chicken Salad minus the chicken, or Thai Beef Salad minus the beef (I love the dressing of these salads).
And here are some more options for things to serve on the side:
Suggestions for sides
Or, eat it street food style – just grab the chicken with your hands and munch it on the go. You know I did! (Though the vision is slightly different – in my kitchen at home in my scruffy apron, rather than the bustling streets of Thailand.😂)
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Back to the old-style hands only video for this one! Ran out of time to do the new style with me and Dozer in it. 🙂
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Thai Turmeric Chicken (Gai Yang Khamin)
Ingredients
- 5 large chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in (~1.2kg/2.4lb) (Note 1)
Marinade
- 4 garlic cloves , finely minced or crushed using garlic press
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper , ground (sub black)
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (tightly packed cup)
Instructions
- Marinade chicken – Mix Marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinade for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
- Prepare – Line a tray with baking paper/parchment paper. Place chicken on the tray, skin side up. Scrape all Marinade out of th bowl and dab onto chicken.
- Bake for 40 minutes, basting at the 30 minute and 40 minute mark using the tray juices to make it golden brown and sticky, and rotate the tray as needed for even colour.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced). Pop the chicken back in for a final 10 minutes to caramelise the skin.
- Rest for 3 minutes before serving with jasmine or coconut rice, and plain chunks of tomato and cucumber the Thai way!
Recipe Notes:
- Stove – Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place skin side down and cover with a lid. Cook for 5 minutes or until the skin is dark golden. Then turn and cover with a lid again. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through, basting the skin with the residual marinade in the bowl.
- BBQ – use medium heat and cook for around 15 minutes in total, basting the skin with the marinade in the bowl).
- Other cuts:
– Drumsticks: Bake 50 minutes.
– Skinless boneless thighs: Bake 20 – 25 minutes, or stove/BBQ for 5 minutes each side on medium.
– Breast: Bake for 20 minutes, or stove/BBQ for around 5 minutes on each side on medium.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published November 2015. Updated with sparkling new photos with a recipe video added and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
When Dozer sings.
(Aka annoying, persistent bark that he quickly realised is a highly effective way to get me to play with him, on command. #sucker)
Hi Nagi! I’ve been commenting on all your recipes – but please let me in on how much fun and food you are having! Wish I was there with you! 🙂
Hi Dorothy! I wish you were here too – Mexico wouldn’t know what hit them!! 🙂 I am having an absolute blast, I can’t get enough of the food and the people are so lovely! I’m currently in Playa del carmen, leaving tomorrow for LA where I will be for a week. The thing that struck me the most about Mexican food is how incredibly fresh and light everything is. Tex Mex is so different! I have barely seen sour cream – when I do, it’s just a drizzle across enchiladas or chilaquiles. Hardly any oil is used, even the cheese here is less greasy than western cheeses! (Which means I feel a lot less guilty eating LOTS of it!!!). There are a few deep fried things, like empanadas, but even they seem lighter than western version because they are made with tortillas rather than pastry so it absorbs less fat.
The markets are something else. The produce is just incredible! Even a plain tomato tastes so much better than organic tomatoes back in Australia. And the avocados – wow! The flavour is so intense and creamy, some places make guacamole with just mashed avocado – nothing else is needed.
And the biggest revelation for me has been Mexican breakfasts. There is a whole huge world of Mexican breakfasts that is largely undiscovered in the western world! It’s been an eye opener and I can’t wait to share some amazing recipes. I picked up a couple of authentic Mexican cookbooks and I’ve been scouring them to make sure all my favorites are in there!
Sorry Dorothy, that’s probably far more than you were asking about! How about you? How are things, how is G and how are the pups? 🙂 N x
Phew … I’m so glad you solved the mystery for us, Nagi! I LOVE your easy chicken marinades, and all the more so when they are as simple as this.
Oooh, and what amazing photos again. Definitely want-to-lick-the-screen delicious-looking.
Hope you’re behaving yourself over there by eating plenty of Mexican food to share with us when you get back 😉
Oi! 🙂 Don’t be so cheeeeeeky!!!! Ba ha ha!!
This chicken looks so succulent and flavorful, Nagi! It’s definitely a finger lickin’ recipe.
Thank you Jen! I do love the flavour of this, it’s exceptional!! (I can say that without being big headed because it’s not my recipe!!)
I love the food in Chiang Mai. Everything about those dishes for some reason is always what I crave. I also crave turmeric. I know some people do not like its flavor but I adore it , its anti-inflammatory properties and of course the brilliant bright yellow orange/yellow color it gives to the dish. Bookmarking this recipe for later.
You’re so well travelled! 🙂 I know, isn’t the fluro yellow colour of the chicken juices glorious? I love love. Though interestingly, in this recipe I can’t specifically taste turmeric in it. It mingles in with the other ingredients to just make a really “yummy” glaze! 🙂
Hey this sounds fantastic , brings back fond memories of the Pattaya area of Thailand , which yes is South of Bangkok but is not Southern Thailand (a region on the Malaysian Pennisular).
I’ve popped it in your handy recipe tin
Looking forward to tasting this soon .
An anticipatory 5 stars
Sounds like you know Thailand well! I’ve never travelled to the south 🙂 But I’m glad to hear validation that it this reminds you of chicken you from from the South of Bangkok!! 🙂 N x
Never tried Thai chicken before but we love turmeric so we should give this a try! 🙂
Oooh! This is a great inaugural Thai chicken to try – so easy and so crazy delicious! 🙂
Gawd… I always love that lacquer-look you get on chicken, on everything! What’s even more impressive, you can get all of that flavor and that incredible glaze with so few ingredients! Just the right combination makes all the difference in a stellar dish!
I know, right? I take no credit for this one, I would not have guessed the ingredients in this myself 🙂
Can I substitute with chicken wings instead? Coz I planned to have them as a finger food.
YES you can!! 🙂 This would be fabulous made with wings, nice and sticky! 🙂
My mistake to come and read this recipe while I’m starving! This one will go on my “to make” list – I put chicken thighs in front of my family and they disappear in seconds. Wondering if you would suggest adding a bit of garlic chili paste since we love anything with a bit of heat…
Can’t go wrong with a dash of chilli in this! 🙂 N x
Sad face here. Can’t have coriander as I sprout hives when I eat it. I really really want to try this – do you think I can sub the coriander with lemongrass? I have a tonne of lemongrass in my freezer!
What? You can’t have coriander? How did I not know that? Oh no! I use so much coriander in my recipes! 🙁 YES lemongrass will be fabulous in this, though in which case I’d suggest using the Gai Yang recipe I posted instead. 🙂
I’ve made the Gai Yang – that was delicious and finger lickin’ good. The marinade is a bit different though – the Gai Yang had a more ingredients, and fresh chili. I’ll give this one a go with lemongrass.
Very sad panda here can’t have coriander. To combat my sensitivity, whenever I see coriander in your recipes, I replace it with lemongrass, which I’ve found to have a similar taste (sort of) and I can safely eat it. I can eat very small amounts of coriander, but even with daily antihistamines, the hives still come out when I eat too much. Boo.
Loooks like another winner, Nagi. Can’t wait to try it and will report back. Plus my grocery store has a great sale on chicken thighs and drumsticks–perfect! I love all your very flavorful Asian chicken recipes, which please even Mr. Fussy, who tends to prefer red meat…he’s become a fan, too. See you in a week; can’t wait! I have even gotten some decent enough photos to write several more blog posts, thanks to you and the FBC FB groups.
Don’t you hate it when you travel and find that dish that blows your mind, and then as you said like a conspiracy, you can’t find it again. You get home google google and then google some more, nope. Well done on finding it. With summer around the corner, I can see this being made for a few BBQs over the next few months. Look so sticky and finger licking, perfect!
I feel like i have got turmeric all over me just reading this dish. Thats because I love it and would dive in head first.!
Tumeric is the best!! I love the fluro yellow juices that drip from this chicken!! 🙂
oh i love the palm sugar option. it’s slighlty sweeter and divine for this dish! gorgeous
I love palm sugar too 🙂 There’s something about freshly grated palm sugar!
Chicken thighs are my absolute favorite and I’ve got everything in this but the oyster sauce. Looking forward to this!!
Ooh, hope you do Christine! I promise this is a ripper! 🙂
I too love Thai flavors. Cannot get enough of it. What I love about this recipe is actually finding more Thai recipes to try. Thx for sharing.
Nagi! I love how you and I both live to hunt down recipes in other countries 🙂 We are OCD that way 🙂
Beautiful chicken! I love the color on it 🙂
Mila! I just saw your recipe on BuzzFeed – YOU GO GIRL! 🙂
Hi Nagi! As always, amazing photography and flavor! I am literally drooling! I have to start a Nagi folder – a big one! 🙂
Looks delicious, can’t wait to try it. What can I substitute for the fish sauce?
Hi Linda! Mushroom soy sauce is the best substitute, otherwise light soy sauce will suffice. 🙂 Not quite the same depth of flavour but still yum!
Reading this recipe, I can’t tell if I would like it or not, because I’ve had a bad experience with one of the ingredients (fish sauce). I’d probably try it, though, because it’s Thai, and Thai food, by definition, is wonderful. It’s a weird feeling to read a recipe and not be able to get a sense of the flavor…
Hi Susan! I absolutely swear to you that you cannot taste the fish sauce in this. It’s basically the salt in the marinade. Fish sauce has more complex flavours that soy sauce and so it contributes to the depth of flavour in the marinade. I know what you mean by a weird feeling of not being able to tell what the flavour of a recipe is just by reading it. This is quite an unusual combination of ingredients, not a recipe I would have been able to construct myself to replicate the chicken I tried. But you will find the flavour is quite familiar re: Thai flavours. It is sweet and salty and has depth of flavour and you know the tumeric is there because you know it’s in the recipe, but if you tasted it without knowing the ingredients, you may not know be able to guess what “that flavour” is – does that make sense?? I am probably not making any sense at all!! <3