Whether the weather agrees or not, I’m declaring it officially grilling season! While this weekend has been less than stellar for any outdoor activities, last weekend when I was in Iowa visiting one of my best friends from college and her new little baby, the weather was absolutely perfect (I’d have to say this little guy was also just as perfect ;))!
Which also meant that we were grilling burgers. My mouth is watering just thinking about the burgers my friend whipped up on the fly. My gosh, were they good! It was a probably a combination of the beef coming from their own cows, my friend being awesome at making burgers, and me getting my first taste of a grilled burger of the season. There’s nothing like it!
While I don’t have my friend’s burger “recipe” to share with you (yet), I do have another delicious recipe that is just as easy to make and get on the table: Marinated Grilled Chicken with Asian Slaw. I just love this food season; everything is simple, fresh, and quick to prepare, so you don’t waste more time in the kitchen than you need to. It’s funny, people always ask if we “eat healthy” at home. Well, yeah, I guess? But I think what they really mean is if we eat boring and tasteless healthy food. I’m telling you, that is definitely not what we eat at our house. This recipe is case in point. So much flavor wrapped up in this meal!
Even with the lousy weather this week, we managed to find a good night for grilling because I needed more grilled food, goshdarnit! ;) Philip grilled these up outside while I prepared the Asian slaw inside and everything was on the table in 30 minutes (I made the marinade the night before and texted Philip when I was leaving work to add it to the prepared chicken…this meal was a team effort!).
Don’t let the longer ingredient list intimidate you; most of the ingredients are pantry staples. The marinade gives the chicken so much flavor and the slaw provides just the right amount of crunch. Rain or shine, the next time you pull out your grill, give this recipe a try!
Marinated Grilled Chicken with Asian Slaw
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
- 3 green onions, chopped into thirds
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons chili sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- Salt and pepper
- Peanuts, roughly chopped
- Cilantro, roughly chopped
For the Snap Pea Slaw: - 3 cups thinly shredded red cabbage (about 1/2 small head)
- 1 cup sugar snap peas, thinly sliced vertically
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal (or the remaining bunch of green onions)
Directions:
- Place chicken breasts in a large ziplock bag (pound to an even thickness with a rolling pin or meat mallet at this point) with the green onions. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, chili sauce, ground ginger, garlic, and lime juice in a bowl. Reserve 1/3 cup of the marinade for the slaw and pour the remaining marinade in the bag with the chicken and green onions. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 hours.
- Preheat grill over high heat for 10 minutes. Turn heat down to medium then spray chicken very well with nonstick spray and place sprayed side down on the grill. Grill for 3-4 minutes a side with the lid closed, spraying the top sides before flipping. Remove from grill once the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees F.
- While the chicken is grilling, combine the red cabbage, snap peas, carrots, and green onions in a large bowl. Toss the slaw with the 1/3 cup reserved marinade. Add extra lime juice, salt, and pepper if necessary. To serve, top chicken with slaw, chopped peanuts, and cilantro.
RD in the Midwest 