Stir Fry Lemongrass Chili Chicken

Lemongrass is prized by Southeast Asian for its light and aromatic flavors. It is known to add refreshing herbal aroma to heavy meal dishes, oily dishes, and strong seafood dishes. This ingredient has been a part of traditional Vietnamese cuisine for hundred years, where it’s used along with Indian, Chinese and French influences.

The lemongrass is concentrated in its lower, cane-like stalks. If you’d like a strong lemongrass flavors, add minced lemongrass at the start of cooking, browning it along with the other aromatics. For a lighter, fresher lemongrass flavor, add it near the end of cooking.

Among endless dishes cooked with lemongrass, stir fry lemongrass chili chicken is one of the dishes that our chef often shows travelers on our Hanoi cook class. In this article, we would like to show you our chef’s recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. (500 grams) of chicken thigh
2 tbsp of minced lemongrass
2 tbsp of minced garlic
2 tbsp of minced turmeric
3 tbsp of fish sauce
½ tsp of salt
1 ½ tbsp of sugar
2 tsp of bird eye red chili
1 onion
3 spring onions
1 tbsp of cooking oil
Thai basil and cilantro

STEPS

Cut the 1 lb. of chicken thigh into 1-inch bite-sized pieces. Mince 2 tbsp of lemongrass, 2 tbsp of turmeric, and 2 tbsp of garlic. Dice 2 tsp of bird eye red chili. Cut 1 onion into wedges. Cut the spring onions into 2 inches. Chop the Thai basil and cilantro.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together 1 tbsp of minced lemongrass, 1 tbsp of minced garlic, 3 tbsp of fish sauce, 1,5 tbsp of sugar, and 2 tsp of bird eye chili. Add the chicken and stir well. Let marinate for about 1 hour (recommended overnight in fridge).
In a large wok on high heat, add 1 tbsp of cooking oil and fry 1 tbsp of minced lemongrass and 1 tbsp of mince garlic until fragrant. Add in the marinated chicken together with all the minced turmeric and stir well until the chicken is cooked.
Cover the lid and cook under medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes depending on the chicken type. Open the lid and stir for about 3 minutes. Add onion wedges, spring onions, and stir for about 2 more minutes until onion turns translucent.
Transfer to serving plate, garnish with basil and cilantro.

There you go. That’s how to stir fry Vietnamese lemongrass chili chicken for 4 persons, with just about 40 minutes preparation and 30 minutes cooking. We hope you enjoy your cook, and please contact us if there is anything we can help.