Number Of Ingredients 13 Steps:
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy sauce, banana ketchup, chili sauce, calamansi juice, Sprite soda, garlic, sesame oil, salt and black pepper.Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs. Pierce the chicken with a fork for the marinade to absorb.Keep the marinated chicken in a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight.*Note: Or you can freeze the marinated chicken for a week or two till you are ready to grill. Make sure to thaw chicken at room temperature before grilling. The next day, skewer the chicken meat in bamboo sticks that were pre-soaked in water for 30 minutes. Use one bamboo skewer for one chicken thigh. Prepare the basting liquid by using the marinade. Or, if preferred make a new mix by using the same marinade ingredients listed above.Add the brown sugar to the basting liquid and blend well.*Note: I add the sugar at the very end. Sugar crystallizes and can toughen the meat if left in the marinade too long. Spray or brush the grates of the grill with oil so meat does not stick. Pre-heat the outdoor grill to a medium-high for 5 to 10 minutes.Place the skewered chicken thighs on the grates. Grill the chicken pieces for a total time of 20 to 25 minutes, basting every now and then to have a shiny glaze.Flip the skewered chicken after the first half of cooking so they cook thoroughly and evenly on all sides.Serve warm with jasmine rice. Ingredients like banana ketchup and calamansi juice (frozen or fresh) can be purchased at Asian markets. If not available, substitute with tomato catsup and fresh lemon juice. Meyer lemons are the closest in taste to the Filipino calamansi.Boneless chicken thighs are best for this recipe and cook fast. If preferred, use boneless chicken breast. If using chicken breast, tenderize with a meat mallet before marinating.
Yield 4-6 servings Number Of Ingredients 10 Steps:
In a large nonreactive bowl, storage container, or Ziploc bag, mix together the banana ketchup, 7UP, lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and garlic until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chicken pieces and toss. Cover the bowl or container or seal the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight. When you are ready to cook the meat, heat a grill pan over high heat or heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium. Reserving the marinade, thread 3 or 4 pieces of chicken on each skewer, letting the pieces touch slightly, and set them on a plate or baking sheet. Pour the marinade into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes; set it aside. Spray the pan or grill grate lightly with cooking spray. Place the skewers on the grill pan or grill and cook, turning them and basting them often with the heated marinade, until they are cooked through or the center of a piece of chicken registers 165°F (75°C) on an instant-read thermometer. This should take between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on your cooking surface. (Discard any leftover marinade.) Transfer to a platter and serve immediately, with sawsawan.
