Lemongrass Grilled Chicken

A quick, easy and tasty Vietnamese style lemongrass marinated chicken, grilled to perfection.

Vietnamese style lemongrass chicken is a favourite, especially when grilled to perfection! The chicken is marinated in a simple and yet tasty mixture highlighting lemongrass along with turmeric, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger, onion, lime, chilies, coconut sugar and fish sauce. You can use any kind of chicken and I like to go with boneless skinless chicken breast, or better yet, thighs, which are juicier and have more flavour. You can cook the chicken in large pieces, like whole breasts or thighs, or you can cut it up into bite sized pieces and skewer it up on a stick before cooking. Once the chicken has marinated you can grill it, broil, it, or pan fry it and I prefer the charred smokiness that grilling it adds! Lemongrass chicken is great all by itself and you can use it in sandwiches, salads, etc.

Lemongrass Grilled Chicken

Prep Time:15 minutes Marinate Time:8 hours Cook Time:15 minutes Total Time:30 minutes Servings: 4

A quick, easy and tasty Vietnamese style lemongrass marinated chicken, grilled to perfection.

ingredients

2 teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted and ground
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1/4 teaspoon turmeric, ground
3 stalks lemongrass, peeled minced
1 shallot, finely diced
1 tablespoon garlic, grated
1 tablespoon galangal (or ginger), grated
1 birds eye chili, thinly sliced (or chili sauce)
1 lime, zest and juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon oil
1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breast or thighs

directions

Mix the coriander, cumin, turmeric, lemongrass, shallot, garlic, galangal, chili, lime, fish sauce sugar and oil and marinate the chicken in the fridge for 30 minutes to over night.
Grill the chicken over medium-high heat until cooked, about 3-5 minutes per side before setting aside to cool for a few minutes to rest.

Option: Replace the lemongrass with 1 tablespoon lemon zest.
Option: Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and place it on skewers.
Option: Roast the marinated chicken in the oven at 425F until cooked, about 20 minutes, instead of grilling!
Option: Pan fry the chicken in oil over medium-high heat until golden brown and cooked through, about 2-4 minutes per side.