Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
This Vietnamese lemongrass chicken is a flavorful and easy Vietnamese chicken recipe that features juicy chicken thighs marinated in the best Vietnamese chicken marinade. Grilled to perfection, it pairs beautifully with homemade nuoc cham sauce for a quick Asian chicken dish.
Ingredients
- 8 boneless chicken thighs
- 1 stalk lemongrass (approx. 3½ tablespoons, finely chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (approx. 2 tablespoons, finely chopped)
- 1 shallot (or small onion, approx. 2 tablespoons, finely chopped)
- 1½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 1½ tablespoons dark soy sauce (or mushroom soy, or regular soy)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- Vegetable oil (for grilling)
- 1 clove garlic (finely grated or chopped)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (approx. 1 lime, or substitute with white vinegar)
- 6 tablespoons hot water
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- Grated carrots (optional for color)
- 1 bird's eye chili pepper (optional for spiciness)
Instructions
- Prepare the marinade by finely chopping or grating the garlic, shallot, and lemongrass. Remove the tough outer layers and dry tips of the lemongrass, using only the tender yellow parts near the stalk’s base.
- In a bowl, combine the chopped aromatics with the fish sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and water. Add the chicken thighs and massage the marinade into the meat. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes (or overnight for maximum flavor).
- Remove excess marinade and aromatics from the chicken before grilling to prevent burning. Lightly coat the chicken with vegetable oil to ensure it doesn’t stick to the grill.
- Preheat your grill to medium heat. Place the chicken skin-side down and sear for 2-3 minutes with the lid open. Flip and cook for another 5-8 minutes with the lid closed, ensuring the chicken is cooked through but not burned.
- Check the internal temperature of the chicken to ensure it reaches 165°F (74°C). If the skin isn’t adequately charred, turn it skin-side down one final time for an extra minute.
- While the chicken rests for 5 minutes, prepare the nuoc cham sauce by mixing the garlic, lime juice, hot water, sugar, and fish sauce. Adjust flavors to your liking, and add optional grated carrot or chili for extra flair.
- Slice the chicken and serve it with steamed rice or vermicelli noodles, fresh veggies, and a generous drizzle of the nuoc cham sauce.
Notes
For this lemongrass chicken recipe, you can use any cut of chicken, but if you want a more flavorful dish, consider using dark meat like chicken thighs and drumsticks, as they have more fat and are juicier, which makes it a lot more delicious. Use boneless chicken so that it cooks more quickly and evenly. To prevent burning on the barbecue, it's best to remove the chunks of lemongrass and garlic from the chicken marinade before grilling. Scraping them off will do the trick. Don't worry about losing flavor, as the marinade is still very flavorful and will penetrate the meat through the fish sauce. When grilling, it may be tempting to use high heat for that perfect char, but this marinade contains sugar, lemongrass, and garlic, which burn easily, so it's best to stick to medium heat to avoid burning. Don't worry, you'll still get those crispy, charred bits - just at a slower rate. Lightly coat the chicken with oil right before you grill it. This will prevent the chicken from sticking to the grill. If you don't have a grill, you can use a cast-iron skillet (or frying pan) and do it over the stove as well. I highly recommend pairing this lemongrass chicken with nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) to give it even more flavor.