Lemongrass chicken is a staple when you go to a Vietnamese restaurant. The rich citrusy and lemony flavours from just adding fresh lemongrass make this chicken delectable. This dish is surprisingly easy to prepare and make.

Start by preparing the lemongrass. Some supermarkets sell fresh lemongrass. Look for ones that look bright green and not dry. Cut the tough ends and hard outer coat off your lemongrass. Finely cut your lemongrass. You can also put it in a processor and blend it into a paste. Sometimes you can also find frozen lemongrass in Asian supermarkets. The frozen stuff makes it easy since the hard work is done for you.

Once the lemongrass is prepped, you can begin making the marinade. Combine 2 tbsp lemongrass, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp vegetable oil, 2 stalks green onion (only the white part) and 2 tbsp sugar. I substituted the sugar for some honey.

Mix everything together and add the chicken. Rub the marinade in the chicken well and let it sit in the fridge at least overnight. The longer, the better. This allows all the flavours to get absorbed and to allow the chicken to really soak in the lemongrass flavours.

Pan fry the chicken in a well oiled pan with the skin down. Let the skin brown and flip the chicken. Cook the chicken until it is fully cooked. Cook the chicken on medium heat so that the sugars don’t burn too quickly before the chicken fully cooks.

Cut the chicken into strips and serve over rice or vermicelli noodles. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken thighs
• 4 shallots, minced
• 2 tbsp lemongrass, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp sugar (or sugar substitute)
• 2 stalks scallions, white part only, finely chopped

Directions

1. Start by prepping the lemongrass. Cut all the hard parts and remove the outer layers. Finely mince the lemongrass or you can place it in a processor.
2. Mix the shallots, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, vegetable oil, sugar and scallions together. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Let the chicken marinade overnight for at least 12 hours.
3. Pan fry the chicken in a well oiled pan with the skin down. Let the skin brown and flip the chicken. Cook the chicken until it is fully cooked.
4. Cut the chicken into strips and serve over rice or vermicelli noodles.

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