I want to share a super tasty Cilantro Thai Chicken Breast recipe today. I learned how to make this dish from a old college friend who grew up in Yu Nan province, China. (Cooking style in her hometown is very similar to Thai cuisine.)
This dish is super easy to make and has a bold flavor. If you are looking for a new way to cook chicken breast, this recipe is definitely worth trying!
The bold sour and spicy flavor comes from the cilantro lime sauce. It’s made from combining minced garlic, grated ginger, chopped scallion, Thai chili pepper and cilantro in a bowl and season with fresh lime juice, soy sauce, sugar and a touch of ground black pepper.
In this recipe, I used fresh Thai chili pepper (available dried as well). Either green or red is fine but since these small chili peppers are very spicy, if you are not that accustomed to spicy food, I would reduce the amount of chili peppers or skip them. For me, I used four chili peppers and I sliced them up to release the spicy flavor.
For a golden, crunchy skin, place the skin-side down first. Do not move the chicken and gently press down with a spatula, this allows the skin to maintain contact with the hot pan and crisp up.
Six to seven minutes later, gently shake the pan, if the chicken doesn’t stick to the pan, it’s okay to flip to the other side. Otherwise, wait for one or two minutes and let the chicken release itself.
After the chicken is golden-browned on both sides, I repeatedly basted it with butter to add more flavor to the surface.
I cut the chicken into thick slices, dressed with the cilantro lime sauces and sprinkled some crunchy peanuts on top before serving. This dish is one of my favorite ways to cook chicken breast now. The freshness, bold flavor and different texture make it a dish that’s hard to put down!
I hope you enjoy making this tasty cilantro Thai chicken breast at home. If you like this recipe, please leave a rating and share it with your friends!
- 1 pound chicken breast with skin (2 pieces)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
- a handful of toasted peanuts, chopped
- Spicy lime cilantro sauce:
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks scallion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 4 thai chili peppers, sliced
- a handful of chopped cilantro
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Rub salt and pepper over the chicken breast on both sides, let sit for 10 minutes
- Toast a handful of peanuts in the oven, chopped and set aside
- Combine garlic, scallion, ginger, Thai chili pepper, cilantro, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar and black pepper in a small container, mix well and set aside.
- Heat a tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat until melt, place the chicken breast, skin side down, in the skillet.
- Wait 6-7 minutes until the skin side is golden brown (do not move the chicken while cooking), flip the chicken with a spatula.( If the chicken skin sticks to the pan, wait for 1 or 2 more minutes and shake the pan, the chicken should) release.
- Pan-fry the other side for 6-7 minutes until golden brown as well.
- Add 3 tablespoons butter into the pan, after the butter has melted, tilt the pan toward you, spoon up the butter with a long-handled spoon, quickly and repeatedly spoon up the foamy butter and pour it back over the chicken for 1-2 minutes before the butter starts smoking.
- Poke the breasts with a fork, if the juices run clear, the chicken is ready.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, let rest a few minutes and then cut into thick slices.
- Spoon some lime cilantro sauce onto the chicken and top with chopped peanuts to serve.
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