Lemongrass Chicken

An overhead view of a plate full of Thai chicken beside a sauce

Spice up your next barbecue.

By Erin Henderson

There’s nothing wrong with a good burger and dog, and throwing another shrimp on the barbie is always a welcome treat, but sometimes you just want to add a little pizzaz to your cookout.

Enter lemongrass chicken. Around my house, this is as a summer staple. Or at least it has been since taking a sensational, six-week, Thai cooking course last year.

You may also like: Thai Coconut Shrimp

Lemongrass chicken is straightforward, eye-rollingly delicious, and a nice break from the standard, Canadian cookout fare. Plus the bright marinade creates a light flavour that just echoes summer’s breezy vibe.

Perhaps lemongrass chicken is so representative of summer because it has its origins in the sweltering tropics of Vietnam, with easy adaptations in Thailand (there are strong similarities between the cuisines of both countries. Which makes sense, since they are neighbours once removed.) Countries that conjure up images of sunny beaches, swaying palm trees, and blue-green waters meeting white sand beaches that stretch forever. And the dishes of both, reflect that hot, humid, sunny climate.

Ontario, where I live, is also hot and humid in the summer (though can't hold a flame to that of South East Asia.) The short season here is best spent on a beach, not locked up in the kitchen. Thus, casting another vote for this easy chicken dinner.

Granted the marinade takes a bit of work, traditionally made by bashing garlic and lemongrass and the various seasonings in flavour-building stages in a heavy-as-all-heck pestle and mortar, but if that’s enough to make you pass on this recipe, then just chuck it all in a food processor for similar results (though I can’t recommend the old p-and-m method enough to safely get out those frustrations.) Still, I’d rather have you make this fabulous chicken than not.

Lemongrass Chicken

Lemongrass chicken is our "first night at the cottage" meal. It needs a long marinade, the kind of thing you begin in the morning and make for dinner. Because of that, it’s brilliant for travel. I’ll submerge the chicken in the marinade in bags before leaving, store it the cooler, and make the three-hour trek north.

By the time we get there, unpack, and take and take that inaugural dip in the lake, no one is very interested in starting dinner from scratch. Having these ready to toss on the grill is a perfect solution to a long day of travel and settling in. I serve these with quick peanut noodles and life’s a beach.

Makes: 8 thighs
Chef level: moderate
Special Equipment: pestle and mortar (ideally), food processor in a pinch

Ingredients:
  • 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 meaty pieces)
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
  • 3 stalks lemon grass, bottom parts only (they’re lined with purple, see picture above), roughly chopped
  • 3 cilantro roots (save the leaves and stems for garnish and other purposes, use the roots where 5 or 6 of the stocks join together to extract the most flavour. See picture above.)
  • 1-3 Thai red chilies (very hot, optional, use to taste. See picture above.)
  • 4 Tbsp neutral oil (such as vegetable or grapeseed)
  • 1 puck/100g palm sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 3 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 6 Tbsp water
How to Make It:
  1. Into a heavy, Thai mortar and pestle (I use a nine inch, see picture above), crush the garlic and peppercorn into a paste (it doesn’t have to be super smooth.)
  2. Add in the lemon grass, cilantro root, Thai chillies, if using, and bash into a rough paste. (If using chilies be careful about the spray going into your eyes as you bash them about.)
  3. Add in the oil and palm sugar and work into the marinade.
  4. Add in the fish sauce, soy sauce, and water and stir into the marinade which should now be fairly pourable, with small bits of herbs visible.
  5. Place the chicken thighs in a resealable container or bag, and pour the marinade on top, working it into the chicken. Let it sit in the fridge at least 8 hours, or up to 24, tossing the chicken occasionally.
  6. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature.
  7. Heat an oiled grill, or cast iron pan on the stove top, to medium high, remove the chicken from the marinade, brushing off as much as you can so it doesn’t flare up or burn, and place the chicken thighs on the grill or pan. Cook, undisturbed, for 2-3 minutes, and flip over cooking for another 2-3 minutes or until the chicken thighs register 170°F (they will continue to cook when removed from the heat source to get up to 175°F). Allow to rest for about 3-5 minutes and serve with a cucumber salad or peanut noodles.
Wine Pairing

I feel like a broken record saying this, but I really think the MVP of Thai food is rosé. The bright acidity, the juicy, red fruit flavours, the lack of tannin works as an all-arounder for most dishes.

If you are not a rosé fan, (the horror) Sauvignon Blanc, or a Spanish Verdejo, are both good matches for the herbal coriander and lemongrass flavours of the chicken.

 

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