Grilled Ginger Peach Chicken (燒烤薑桃子雞, Siu1 Haau1 Goeng1 Tou4 Zi2 Gai1)

 

This recipe was updated on 13 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

So what do you do with a peach that’s too ripe to eat? I always hate to throw out overripe peaches that you can’t eat. I thought about the Korean beef marinades that have pear juice in them and wondered how a peach would taste in a homemade chicken marinade. I also thought about needing another flavor in the marinade besides peach and my mind wandered to ginger. The ripe peach can be crushed by hand, after removing the peel and the pit, into the marinade. The resulting chicken tastes slightly sweet from the peach that goes well with the ginger flavor.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

5 lb.	2.5 kg.	Chicken thigh (鷄髀, gai1 bei2) or breast pieces (雞胸肉, gai1 hung1 juk6)
2 in.	5 cm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed
1	1	Ripe peach (桃子, tou4 zi2), peeled, pitted, and crushed
½ cup	125 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
½ cup	125 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

 

Equipment

		Tongs and an oil coated paper towel
22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal or gas grill (or larger)

 

Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast by removing any excess fat and remaining yellow skin. Ideally all the yellow skin was removed during the vendor’s chicken cleaning process, but some always remains and will prevent the marinade from penetrating the skin. Use your fingers and rub any remaining yellow skin from the chicken under cold running water. Marinate the chicken in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the crushed ginger and peach, soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If you use a very ripe peach, you can remove the skin and pit, and crush the peach by hand. If marinating the chicken overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Prepare the charcoal or gas grill for indirect cooking following the manufacturer’s instructions. Light the charcoal or preheat the gas grill accordingly. Soak the wood for smoking (oak, hickory, or pecan goes well with this dish) for one hour if desired. I use dry and not soaked wood.
3. If using a charcoal grill, arrange the lighted coals on one half of the grill. The side of the grill with the coals (the “hot” side) will later be used to grill the chicken and the side without the coals (the “cool” side) will be used for smoking the chicken. For a gas grill, follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to which burners to leave on for indirect cooking. Clean the grill to remove any leftover charred bits from the last use and with a folded paper towel coated in oil, use tongs to lubricate the grill. Put the smoking wood onto the coals or as per the instructions for the gas grill.
4. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the cool side of the grill and cook the thighs for 15- or breasts for 25 minutes covered. Uncover the grill and turn the chicken over to brown the skin on the hot side of the grill for another 5-6 minutes. Turn the chicken over again and brown the other side for another 5-6 minutes. Remove the chicken from the grill and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before serving. The temperature of your fire and previous experience with your grill will determine the total cooking time for the chicken.