Thai Chicken Kebabs

I knew the black raspberry photo session went too well.

Having taken a good 40 or so shots, I downloaded the pictures to my computer via my incredibly handy new CF card reader. To do this, I remove the CF memory card from my camera, insert it into the oh-so-portable reader, plug the nifty little sucker into my computer’s USB port (still with me?) and the pictures magically load onto my hard drive. No unruly cables to untangle. No batteries to die mid-download. How perfect is that?

I admit, with company coming and a dinner to make, I was rushing. But in my defense, I did take the time to compose several different shots.

Kebabs off the grill and arranged seductively on a platter. Beep beep. Snap.

Entire meal on a plate. Beep beep. Snap.

Shortcake dripping berries added to the frame for that “entire meal shot”. Beep beep. Snap.

Oooh, the light looks great on the garden. Beep beep. NO snap.

Now, you should know that my camera beeps at me a lot. It beeps when it locks focus on the subject. I beeps when I re-set the focus field. And I swear, I’ve heard it beep when I back up from a shot. So when it beeped repeatedly during my second photo session of the day, I didn’t think much of it.

My company had arrived. We were all hungry. And as to why it refused to take the last few shots? Well, I’d figure that out later. Besides, the garden snaps were just for fun.

As we finished dessert I wanted to take a picture of my almost empty plate for that It-Was-Soooo-Good-You-Should-Try-It-Too shot. But when I turned my camera on, I realized my mistake. All those beeps had been a warning to read the display. It had been screaming at me — “No CF card.”

Translation: No card. No photos.

The light was dying, I had only three bite-sized pieces of chicken left and no pictures for today’s blog. Leaving a trail of unprintable language in my wake, I ran inside, ripped the memory card from my stupid reader, shoved it into my camera and took a few parting shots (pardon the pun).

Caitlin, if you’re reading this, moments like these prevent me from becoming one of those “supercilious pendants” you so loathe.

So, here’s a hastily taken picture and another recipe you might consider if you care to join The World’s Longest Barbecue. These kebabs have all the balanced flavours of Thai, and can be made as spicy as you like by playing with the amount of red curry paste added.

Let’s see. I’ve done Indian Tikka, Greek souvlaki and now Thai. What grill-friendly chicken variations do you make?

Thai Chicken Kebabs
Printable recipe

Serves 4

• 2 whole chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
• 3 cloves garlic
• 6 coriander roots
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger root, grated
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp red curry paste (up to 1 tbsp depending on your heat tolerance)
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 whole lime
• cilantro leaves, minced
• 4 skewers

Instructions

1. Cube chicken into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a blender or food processor, blend garlic, coriander roots, ginger, oil, fish sauce, lime, curry paste and brown sugar together to form a marinade.
3. In a non-reactive container, toss chicken in marinade to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. If using wooden skewers, put them to soak now.
4. Heat grill to medium. Thread chicken onto skewers.
5. Grill the kebabs, turning a few times until chicken is cooked. This takes anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes depending on the type of skewers used (metal skewers cook faster) and the size of the chicken chunks. Don’t overcook.
6. Remove kebabs from the grill. Squeeze the lime over them and sprinkle with cilantro.
7. Serve immediately on plain basmati or coconut rice.*

* Due to my idiocy with the memory card, I don’t have a good photo of the coconut rice. I’ll post a recipe once I’ve made another batch and managed to get a decent shot.