no. 145: Thai-inspired grilled chicken lettuce cups

Plus, an important WARNING for anyone traveling to Mexico!

Last week, you may have noticed on my IG stories that I went to Holbox, Mexico with three of my dearest girl friends. We booked this trip in the beginning of February, which was about a month into my ACL surgery recovery and the absolute THICK of my winter blues. I desperately needed to have something on the calendar to look forward to.

Hotel Punta Caliza came across my desk because another influencer who I follow stayed there last year, and I knew I had to go, not only because it was so beautiful, but also because it’s not that expensive.

I cannot recommend this hotel enough. The room and the pool were so nice, the staff was incredibly kind, and the food was beyond delicious. My favorite meal of the trip was the chilaquiles that we had (breakfast was included, bitch!!!) on the last morning of our stay. Book a few months in advance—it’s a small hotel so the rooms fill up.

If it seems like the blood has finally returned to my face in pics of me from the trip, it’s mostly because I have un-paused my Nuuly subscription after a winter devoid of fashion, thus breathing life into my mind, body, and soul, once again. My vacation box had some serious bangers, and it turns out my trip wasn’t nearly long enough for all of the looks I had packed. I will be taking this into consideration for next year’s tropical excursion.

ALL NUULY!!!

Nuuly is not currently paying me for my marketing efforts, HOWEVER they do have a referral plan, so PLEASE use my link for $30 off your first month.

I will offer one last learning from this vacation, which is that Mexican airport security rules are slightly different than the US. I’d like to warn all of my fellow internationally-traveling knitters that MEXICO DOES NOT ALLOW KNITTING NEEDLES IN A CARRY-ON BAG.

This was my first time flying as a knitter, and I’d like to set the record straight that I *did* google ahead of my trip if needles were allowed through TSA, and they are. In fact, I had a lovely knit break while waiting at my terminal in LAX. However, I didn’t think to confirm that it was the same in Mexico because WHY WOULD I CHECK THAT?

I have never felt so overcome with searing hot rage than when the Cancun airport security official looked me dead in my eyes and told me they were going to confiscate my needles if I didn’t check them. So, I obviously went back downstairs and checked my bag. This unfortunately left me with nothing to do on my 5 hour flight, which was a huge bummer. You’ve been warned.

Thai-Inspired Grilled Chicken Lettuce Cups

Serves: 4-6

Active time: 25 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes plus 1 hour marinating time

There was a part of me that wanted to create a recipe for this week’s newsletter that was an homage to my amazing vacation in Mexico, however it has been windy and gray in LA, so the thought of eating guacamole and ceviche in my frigid apartment was not sounding too appetizing.

Instead, I decided to make these juicy grilled chicken thighs because I have been wanting to start a little series called Grilled Chicken Recipes That Don’t Suck. As the weather starts to warm up, I want to make sure that you all have the tools that you need to fire up the grill and make some seriously tasty chicken recipes.

As I’m sure you all know, I’m still very much in recovery mode from my surgery, and consuming ample amounts of protein is always top of mind for me, so what better way to do it than with a handful of REALLY GOOD grilled chicken recipes?

We’re starting off with this boneless, skinless thigh creation, which was incredibly easy to make. I have subsisted off of this meal every night this week. One of the oldest tricks in the recipe development book is to make a flavor packed sauce that can act as both a marinade and a dipping sauce. Great cooks are efficient ones.

This simple marinade incorporates cilantro, lime juice, ginger, garlic, a ton of fish sauce, and a pinch of sugar for a bright, well-balanced sauce. I would recommend letting these thighs sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes, but if you can let ‘em chill in there for 8 hours or even a full 24, the thighs will only be juicier (amen). The acidity of the fish sauce and lime juice tenderize the meat for a truly succulent end result.

One of my weird little recipe kinks is that I LOVE when a marinade has a touch of something sweet in there, not only because it balances the flavor, but because the sugars caramelize on the grill for those crispy, almost-burnt bits. Hell yeah.

You could eat this chicken straight up, but I think it’s even better in a little lettuce wrap with white rice, toasted cashews, and more of that unctuous, herbaceous sauce. I’ve enjoyed the leftovers with chopped mango, cucumber, and avocado, as well. If you don’t have a grill, don’t worry, there is a stovetop to oven method written in the recipe.