Can I thaw chicken in the microwave then marinade it?
Yes, but make sure you use a lower power setting or defrost if you have it. It’s also not a bad idea to shorten the time you were planning to leave it in the microwave and to let the chicken finish defrosting in the marinade while it’s in the fridge. When defrosting in the microwave, even on “defrost” some of the chicken gets a little more cooked than it should so we always recommend cooking microwave defrosted chicken immediately. If you wanted to marinade it longer then I would follow the sink defrosting method which can be a bit quicker than the fridge, but still slower than the microwave. In the sink, make sure the water is tepid to cool. Too warm and you’ll be doing the same thing to the outside as the microwave – it actually can start to cook.
