Andrew Zimmern’s Kitchen Adventures A tangy, gingery Malaysian marinade gives Andrew Zimmern’s juicy, grilled Cornish hens tremendous flavor, and a spicy-sweet peanut sauce adds even more. Slideshow: Staff-Favorite Grilled Chicken Recipes
How to Make It
In a medium bowl, whisk the rice wine with the soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, crushed red pepper, 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and 3 tablespoons of cilantro. Place the Cornish hen pieces in a very large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Press out the air, seal the bag and carefully turn to coat the hens with the marinade. Refrigerate for 24 hours, turning the bag occasionally.
In a small food processor, pulse the peanuts until finely ground. In a small saucepan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the garlic, tomato paste and sambal oelek and stir over moderately high heat until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in the stock, hoisin sauce, peanut butter and sugar and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking, until thick, smooth and slightly darkened, about 3 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and let cool completely. Stir in the ground peanuts and red chile.
Light a grill. Remove the hens from the marinade and wipe off any excess; reserve the marinade. Brush the grill with peanut oil and grill the hens over indirect heat, basting occasionally with the reserved marinade for the first 15 minutes and turning often, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thighs registers 160°, about 40 minutes. Transfer the hens to a platter, season with salt and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve the hens with the peanut sauce, lime wedges and sticky rice.