Kashgari Spiced Chicken — Victor Liong x Big Green Egg

Victor Liong × Big Green Egg
Victor Liong's Kashgari Spiced Chicken on the Big Green Egg

Kashgari Spiced Chicken

Serves 4–6
Prep 90 min
Cook 60 min
BGE Temp 220°C
Setup Direct
Difficulty Advanced

This dish came out of years of cooking at restaurant events — it's designed to be dramatic on the Big Green Egg. The Kashgari spice blend is built for live fire, the brine keeps the thighs impossibly juicy, and the chilli bean eggplant does everything a side dish should: it's rich, smoky and does the heavy lifting so the chicken can shine.

"I cook this at every Big Green Egg event. People always ask for the recipe — this is it."

— Victor Liong

The Recipes

1. Garlic Brine

1000g Chicken thigh, skin on bone out
50g Garlic
50g Salt
1000g Water
  1. 1Blend or crush garlic with salt and water until dissolved.
  2. 2Submerge chicken thighs completely. Brine for 1 hour at room temperature, or up to 4 hours refrigerated.
  3. 3Remove from brine, drain and pat completely dry before grilling.
Victor's tip

Don't skip the dry-off step. Wet skin won't crisp on the grill — you need it bone dry to get that crackling texture.

2. Kashgari Spice Blend

100g Murray River pink salt flakes
100g Cumin seeds
30g Fennel seeds
50g Sichuan peppercorns
  1. 1Toast the cumin, fennel and Sichuan peppercorns on a tray at 150°C for 10 minutes. Do not brown.
  2. 2Cool completely, then blend to a semi-fine powder — you want some texture remaining.
  3. 3Fold through the Murray River salt flakes. Store in an airtight jar.
Victor's tip

This blend keeps for weeks and works on lamb, fish and vegetables too. Double the batch — you'll use it.

3. Chilli Bean Sauce

200g Chilli bean paste (doubanjiang)
165g Long red chilli
110g Garlic
55g Ginger
200g Shaoxing rice wine
800g Soy paste
300g Sugar
  1. 1Cook chilli bean paste in neutral oil over medium heat, stirring, until it darkens and becomes fragrant and sticky — about 5 minutes.
  2. 2Blend the chilli, garlic and ginger to a rough paste. Add to the pan and cook a further 3 minutes.
  3. 3Add Shaoxing wine, soy paste and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes until slightly reduced. Cool.
Victor's tip

This sauce appears in all three recipes in this series. Make a big batch — it keeps refrigerated for 2 weeks and is outstanding with grilled lamb and fish.

4. Chilli Bean Eggplant

2–3 large Eggplant
To taste Chilli bean sauce (above)
To serve Sesame oil, spring onion
  1. 1Halve the eggplant lengthways. Score the cut face deeply in a crosshatch pattern.
  2. 2Grill cut side down on a hot BGE (220–250°C, direct) until deeply charred — don't rush this step.
  3. 3Flip and grill skin side down until the flesh is completely soft throughout, about 8–10 more minutes.
  4. 4Scrape the flesh away from the skin, discard skin. Mix flesh with chilli bean sauce to taste. Finish with sesame oil.

5. Garlic Yoghurt

200g Plain yoghurt (full fat)
2 cloves Garlic, microplaned
Pinch Salt
To serve Fried garlic chips
  1. 1Combine yoghurt, microplaned raw garlic and salt. Mix well and refrigerate until needed.
  2. 2Just before serving, top with fried garlic chips for crunch and extra depth.

6. Grilled Flatbread

900g Plain flour
550g Water (warm)
60g Neutral oil
50g Sugar
30g Salt
12g Dried yeast
  1. 1Combine all ingredients and knead until smooth and elastic — about 8 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer.
  2. 2Cover and prove until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour at room temperature.
  3. 3Portion into 80g balls. Roll each to about 3mm thickness.
  4. 4Grill directly on a hot BGE grill grate over high heat (no convEGGtor). Cook until blistered and puffed on both sides — about 2 minutes per side.
Victor's tip

The BGE gives you the direct heat and smoke that makes these flatbreads extraordinary. Grill them to order — they're best straight off the fire.

Grilling the Chicken & Serving

  1. Set up your BGE for direct cooking at 220°C. Grill grate in place, no convEGGtor.
  2. Place brined, dried chicken thighs skin side down. Cook without moving until skin is deeply golden and releases cleanly — about 8–10 minutes.
  3. Flip the thighs. Sprinkle generously with Kashgari spice blend immediately. Cook a further 5–6 minutes until cooked through.
  4. Rest the chicken for 5 minutes before slicing or serving whole.
  5. Spread warm chilli bean eggplant across a large platter. Lay chicken on top. Dot with garlic yoghurt.
  6. Scatter a fresh herb salad (coriander, mint, sliced spring onion) over everything. Serve with grilled flatbread alongside.
Kashgari Spiced Chicken grilling on the Big Green Egg Kashgari Spiced Chicken plated with eggplant, yoghurt and flatbread
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