Kai Kawlae (Southern Thai-Style Grilled Chicken)

When it comes to ethnicity, culture, and religion, Thailand’s deep south has little to do with the rest of the country. Most notably, its marinade is essentially a curry, which is painted over the meat in layers as it cooks, resulting in a grilled bird that’s rich, extremely fragrant, and smoky.

Featured in: “ This Smoky Grilled Chicken is a Taste of Thailand’s Deep South .” Brush the marinade on during cooking to build layers of savor. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside to rehydrate until softened, about 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard the chiles’ seeds and stringy membranes, then thinly slice and set aside in a colander in the sink to drip-dry for 15 minutes more.

In a wok over medium heat, dry roast the fennel seeds, stirring frequently, until toasted and fragrant, around 3 minutes. Add the fenugreek, dry roast until toasted and fragrant, around 2 minutes.

Finally, add the reserved chiles and dry roast until toasted and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Using a mortar and pestle, pound and grind the lemongrass, galangal, ginger, and salt to a coarse paste.

Add the shrimp paste and reserved toasted spices and chiles, and continue pounding. Grinding to a fine paste. (Alternatively, if using a food processor or blender, combine all the elements and blend to a fine paste.) To a wok or medium pot over medium-high heat, add the coconut oil and the curry paste. Add ½ cup of the coconut milk and the dried asam fruit or tamarind paste, stirring continuously to combine.

When the mixture is reduced and almost dry (about 5 minutes) stir in another ½ cup coconut milk. Repeat this process, using up a total of 2 cups of the coconut milk, until the mixture has the consistency of a rich, saucey curry.

Remove from heat, remove and discard the dried asam fruit (or the tamarind seeds and/or stems), and set aside to cool. Measure ¼ cup of the marinade and set aside for serving.

Preheat the grill to cook over medium heat and position the grate about 3 inches above the coals or gas flame. Prepare the chicken: Remove and discard the bones from the chicken thighs.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, turmeric powder, salt, 1 cup of the curry marinade and the remaining ¼ cup coconut milk; set aside to marinate for 30 minutes. When the grill is hot, add the chicken and cook until seared and fragrant on one side, about 5 minutes, then flip. Repeat this process, flipping and applying new layers of marinade, until each skewer has several layers of slightly reduced, slightly charred paste. The chicken is cooked through but still tender, a total of around 15 minutes.

Once cooked, transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with the reserved ¼ cup of marinade.