These grilled chicken skewers are flavorful, spicy, and full of citrusy pep, all without having to juice a lemon. The secret ingredient? Sprite. Here, chicken breasts are marinated in the lemon-lime soda along with fish sauce, garlic, and Thai chili sauce to tenderize the meat and infuse it with punchy flavor. The result is succulent, spicy, sweet-sticky chicken skewers. Bonus: You can use up any half-empty bottles of Sprite for this marinade (you don’t need the fizz).
One key to tender, expertly charred meat is the “Fizz Factor”, in other words something from the beverage aisle. The best marinades for grilled meats have certain things in common: a good amount of sweetness, lip-smacking acidity, and complex flavor. For it, all you need is to crack open a can of soda.
These fizzy things bring a lot to the table. This isn’t a new idea, many cultures utilize the sweet stuff for the meaty marinades. Sprite lends a citrusy pep—without having to juice a lemon— to this fiery marinade for chicken skewers. By the way, carbonation doesn’t make a difference, so this is the perfect opportunity to use up any flat soda you might have lurking in the fridge.
*We did not discard the marinade after skewering the chicken. Instead, we put it in a small sauce pan and brought it to a gentle boil for several minutes to kill any bacteria. The The Hubs brushed onto the chicken skewers as he was grilling.
Chili Garlic Sauce packs more heat than Thai Chili Sauce, so choose based on your heat tolerance. We paired our skewers with a Thai cucumber salad topped with crushed peanuts, and Coconut Rice. A fantastic trio!
Sprite-Grilled Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
- 8 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1 12-oz. can or 1½ cups Sprite
- 1½ cups Thai chile sauce, divided
- ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
- 3 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces
- Vegetable oil (for grill)
- Juice of 3 medium limes (use zest if making Coconut Rice side dish)
- ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro
Directions
- Mix together 8 garlic cloves, finely grated, one 12-oz. can or 1½ cups Sprite, 1 cup Thai chile sauce, ½ cup fish sauce, and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a 1-gal. resealable plastic bag or large baking dish. Add 3 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1” pieces, and turn to coat. Seal or cover; chill, turning occasionally, at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours. (Marinate at least 4 hours if you can.)
- Prepare a grill for medium-high heat; oil grate with vegetable oil. Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into bag or dish; *discard marinade. Thread chicken onto skewers (about 8 pieces each) and grill, turning once, until cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the a piece should register 160°), 10–12 minutes. Transfer skewers to a platter and let rest 5 minutes.
- Whisk juice of 3 medium limes, ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro, remaining ½ cup Thai chile sauce, and remaining 1 Tbsp. fish sauce in a small bowl to combine. Taste sauce and season with salt if needed. Spoon sauce over chicken skewers to serve
Recipe by Jesse Szewczyk for Bon Appétit
Accounting for Taste 