Lemongrass is an incredibly important ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine. Its fragrance helps to combat the strong aroma of meats, and is often used in marinades for Vietnamese barbecue. This Vietnamese lemongrass chicken thighs recipe is a classic use of lemongrass. Serve these with steamed white rice, or even in bun, or Vietnamese vermicelli salad with fish sauce.
How do I use fresh lemongrass?
I prefer to use frozen grated lemongrass for this lemongrass chicken thighs recipe because of its ease, but if fresh lemongrass stalks are all that you have, you will first need to cut off the woody ends that are too hard. You want to use the juicy, more tender bottom 2/3 of the stalk of lemongrass. The tops are usually too hard and will need to be discarded. Of the remaining 2/3 of the stalk, you will need to chop off the woody ends and peel off the outer 2 layers of leaves as they are usually too fibrous. With what you have left, you will either keep it whole and lightly smash it (for soups and curries) or finely mince it (for marinades and sauces).
Vietnamese Lemongrass chicken thighs
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup grated lemongrass
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch piece of ginger minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
- 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp xiaoxing wine
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp oil
Instructions
- Blend ingredients for marinade until completely smooth: lemongrass, garlic, ginger, salt, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, xiaoxing wine, and water.
- Thoroughly mix marinade into the chicken and allow to sit overnight in the refrigerator.
- Then remove chicken thighs from marinade. Place onto a baking sheet. Blot the skins with a clean paper towel to remove moisture. Then drizzle skin with 1 tbsp oil.
- Place chicken thighs about 6 inches from the top heat source of the oven. Bake chicken thighs at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Then broil at 400 degrees for 10 minutes until juices run clear and the skin is crispy.
- Serve with steamed white rice.
Serve with my fish sauce recipe, aka nuoc mam.
