South East Asian Barbeque Chicken by Chef Ryan Bergunio

Who doesn’t look forward to the warmer months? It is the perfect time to go out and spend some time with family and friends. Social gatherings during summer call for swimming by the pool or the beach and surrendering to the sweet aroma of that meat cooked in an open fire afterward.

Anyone can have barbecue for it does not require much of precise mixture or concoction of ingredients. Barbecuing, however, includes several techniques that depend on how the cook wants the meat done. Some techniques include smoking, braising, baking, and grilling—which is the most popular way to have a barbecue. When grilling, the meat is cooked on dry heat over a hot fire that may come out of wood, electricity, charcoal, or gas (natural gas or propane).

Having a barbecue is considered as one of the most fun and popular activities in America every summer not only for the reason that it implies togetherness, but also because it promotes healthy choices both in health and in budget.

The same goes for Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where barbecue is considered as an inevitable part of every feast. The most common meat used when barbecuing in Southeast Asia is chicken because some or most parts of these countries are predominated by Muslim nationals which do not include pork in their diet. The trademark of barbecue in Southeast Asia is its sauce which is made out of spices similar to that of curry, mixed with peanut powder. The sauce is also used as a marinade or as spread to the chicken, pork, or lamb before being skewered on bamboo sticks.

Perfect with garlic vinegar as dipping sauce and steamed rice, a grilled chicken barbecue done South East Asian style never fails to make any bonding experience memorable.

South East Asian Barbeque Chicken

Ingredients:
marinade:
2 cups low sodium soy sauce (Kikkoman)
2 heads garlic (smashed)
2 ea yellow onions (roughly chopped)
1 ea fresh lemon juice (or 5 ea calamansi juice)
1 ½ cup sprite or 7-up
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup agave nectar (if available. OR honey)
1 tbsp black pepper (coarsely ground)
12 oz (1 bottle) banana ketchup
10 lbs chicken thighs (skin taken out)

for basting or brushing:
1 cup banana ketchup
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup oil
½ cup water
for garlic-vinegar dipping sauce:
2 cups red wine vinegar or white vinegar
6 cloves garlic (smashed, and peeled)
to taste salt & pepper
to taste granulated sugar

Directions:
Note: this must be done a day or two prior to the gathering.

1. make the marinade by combining all the ingredients above, and set aside.
2. take out the skin, and trim out the excess fat of the chicken.
3. marinate the chicken for 24-48 hours in a bowl covered loosely in plastic wrap.
4. make the basting sauce for brushing the chicken while grilling by combining all the ingredients until it is well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Chef Ryan Berguino

Former Executive Chef; Pastry Chef, Lola's Restaurant in West Hollywood
 
Former Chef De Cuisine; Executive Pastry Chef at Kado Japanese Restaurant