Thai Grilled Chicken Tenderloins and Zesty Dipping Sauce is made with chicken tenderloins marinated in a bath of aromatic lemongrass, kaffir limes leaves, chili, galangal, sesame oil, fish sauce, grilled to perfection and served with a lightly sweet, spicy, sour and savory Thai dipping sauce.

Super tender and juicy Thai infused chicken tenderloins only takes about 12 minutes on the grill after they have been marinated in an aromatic bath of Thai spices and herbs. I made a complete healthy and  delicious meal with Thai grilled chicken tenderloins, a zesty dipping sauce, coconut ginger rice and some fresh stir fried veggies in less than 30 minutes, minus the marinade time and so can you. Not only is this recipe super easy to prepare, it is cardiac friendly and  gluten-free.  If you skip the ginger coconut rice side dish and opt for a salad instead, Thai grilled chicken tenderloins with a zesty dipping sauce is a great low carb and diabetic friendly meal. Come on and let me show you the way...

Spring is here, even if mother nature has sent another pile of snow this week. Time to shovel a pathway out to the grill and start having a little fun.  There is something magical and fun about this time of the year. After being in winter hibernation... I just can't wait to get out of those black and gray clothes and start wearing a little color. Even my recipes are going to start getting lighter and brighter and I am starting with this light, flavorful and delicious Thai grilled chicken tenderloins and zesty dipping sauce.

The Thai marinade is super easy to make. We have these fresh Tom Yum Soup packets here in Hong Kong that you can find in the refrigerated section that have the all the necessary ingredients to make the marinade such as fresh lemongrass, chili, kaffir lime leaves, key limes, galangal and shallots. Maybe you can not get all the fresh ingredients where you live but feel free to substitute the ground dried version or at least just some of the fresh ingredients or even with just with lots of garlic, fresh limes and sesame oil as it is going to taste amazing no matter what. Seriously even a marinade with lots of fresh limes, chili or jalapenos, shallots, garlic and ginger (as an exchange for galangal) is all you really need for one dynamic little marinade.

This time I chose to just pop everything in the food processor and whiz it up in seconds flat. This was brilliant as the Thai paste made from the aromatics actually made a little crust on the chicken tenderloins and the chicken stayed moist on the inside and nice little grill marks and golden brown on the outside. However, if you do not have a food processor, no worries just chop up finely, mix and you are good to go. The secret is a longer marinade time.

I marinated mine for about only one hour as I was in a rush but imagine if you actually remembered to marinade before you left for work or even the night before. Oh my, blissful.

The trick to keeping your chicken tender and delicious is to fight the urge to over cook your chicken until the most conservative friend or family member is assured that the chicken is just like shoe leather... You guys all know what I mean!!! Did you know that chicken and meat still continues to cook internally for about another few minutes after it has been removed from the grill. So if it was shoe leather before you pulled it off, you are going to need lots more dipping sauce and a couple extra glasses of wine to help those shoe leather slices slide down easier...

Thawed (unfrozen) Chicken tenderloins only needs to cook for about 10-12 minutes over medium heat or until the juices no longer run pink. Every grill is different and some chicken tenderloins are thicker than others, so if you are unsure just cut into one to take a quick peek at the flesh inside and if it is white and juicy take your chicken tenderloins off the grill.

The zesty garlic and chili dipping sauce could not be easier. You just squeeze a little lime juice, splash of gluten-free fish sauce, chopped chilis, garlic and a little sugar or sugar alternative in a bowl and mix and you are good to go. This is all about the balance of flavors with the sour, savory, spicy and sweet. In Thailand they call this special sauce "naam jim aahaan thaleh" I call this the ACME dipping sauce of Thailand. You can find it everywhere and it tastes the same from restaurant to restaurant or from street vendor to street vendor.

I know how many of you feel about chili. You either love it or hate it. The great news is if you do not like chili or you like it but your stomach just cannot stand the heat, just leave it out as there are so many other lovely aromatics that it is still gorgeous without. this concept goes for both the marinade and for the zesty garlic and chili dipping sauce.

Before I put my chicken on the grill,  I assembled my ginger and coconut jasmine rice.  It is not really even a recipe as it is so easy to make. I throw in a pot 2 cups washed jasmine rice, 1 cup water, 1 cup coconut milk, 2 inch knob of peeled and bashed ginger and let it steam with a lid for about 12 minutes on the stove top or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. You see how perfect this is as just about the time the chicken is cooked on the grill, the rice is done. While the cooked grilled Thai Chicken tenderloins are resting I toss together the garlic and chili zesty dipping sauce and stir fry a few fresh vegetables and dinner is done in a snap.  15-20 max and you can have a complete delicious and healthy meal on your table.  You have to love that!