Easy Simple Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

Easy Simple Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken. Tender chicken thighs seasoned with a sweet, savory lemongrass marinade accompanied with a tangy Vietnamese dipping sauce. This is one of those easy chicken recipes that you will make repeatedly because it's so good and simple!

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 6

Marinating time 1

Total Time 1 16

Course Main Course

Cuisine South-East Asian

Servings pieces

Calories per serving 140 kcal

Ingredients

1.25 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs or substitute with chicken breast* (See Notes 1)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil and add more if you fry chicken in two batches

Chicken Marinade:

1 stalk lemongrass white part only
1 small shallot
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon brown sugar or palm sugar (or sub with white sugar or honey as a last resort)
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon regular soy sauce not dark soy sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Nuam Cham Dipping Sauce (optional):

¼ cup water cold
¼ cup white granulated sugar
3 tablespoon fish sauce
3 cloves garlic minced
1 red chili pepper finely chopped

Instructions

Into a blender or food processor, add Marinade ingredients as listed above. Blend until you have a chunky paste.
Transfer skinless boneless chicken thighs to a medium bowl or a Ziploc bag. Pour marinade into bowl or bag. Allow chicken to marinate for at least 1 hour, or ideally overnight in the fridge.
Heat a large non-stick pan on medium-high heat (heat level 7 out of 10).
Alternatively, to Air Fry the chicken, see Notes section below.
Once pan is hot, add vegetable oil. Important: Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to fry chicken in two batches to give each piece enough room or it won't brown as well. I used a 10 inch pan and I cooked in two batches.
Fry chicken in a single layer giving each piece enough room and do not add marinade to the pan. Cook chicken on the first side for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and charred in some areas. Avoid moving the chicken around to get a nice sear and char.
Reduce to medium heat and flip chicken over. Fry on the other side for 2 minutes until browned and juices run clear or an internal temperature of 165 F. Immediately remove cooked chicken from pan. Note: If you fry in two batches, make sure to clean the pan of the burned marinade between batches and add another tablespoon of vegetable oil to fry the next batch.
Optional: If you choose to heat up the reserved marinade, please transfer it to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once it bubbles, serve with chicken.

Nuac Cham Sauce:

In a small bowl, combine Nuac Cham ingredients as listed together. Serve as a dipping sauce with chicken.

Notes

Note 1: If you use chicken breast, make sure to use skinless boneless breast and butterfly it so it's relatively the same thickness as a chicken thigh for the same cooking time.

To Air Fry Chicken:

Lightly spray air fryer basket with neutral oil or line the basket with an air fryer liner (made of parchment paper).
Place marinated chicken thighs into single layer. Do not overlap. You may need to air fry in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
Air fry chicken at 400 F for 8-10 minutes until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F with an instant read digital thermometer or until juices run clear. No need to flip over.

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