Air Fryer Lemongrass Chicken

Name: Air Fryer Lemongrass Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 6 cloves garlic (minced); 3-4 tbsp lemongrass (minced); 1 tbsp fish sauce; 4 tbsp soy sauce; 1 lime (juiced); 1 tbsp brown sugar; 1 tsp red chili flakes; 8-10 chicken thighs (boneless, skinless); 1 cup sugar; 1 cup fish sauce; 1½ cup hot water; 5 cloves garlic (minced); 3-4 Thai chili peppers (minced); 2 limes (juiced)

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Packed with flavour and perfectly juicy, this Air Fryer Lemongrass Chicken Thighs recipe is perfect as an easy weeknight meal that comes together in a few simple steps. Let the air fryer do all the work for you!

You will fall in love with this easy air fryer lemongrass chicken recipe. Served on top of a bed of vermicelli noodles, pickled carrots, cucumbers, and fresh herbs, with a side of homemade nuoc cham, you will want to make this recipe again and again. Of course, you can serve this however you choose to, but Bun Ga Nuong (aka vermicelli noodle bowl) is such a refreshing dinner that’s perfect for the warmer weather.

Close up of air fryer lemongrass chicken over noodles.

Why You’ll Love This Air Fryer Chicken Recipe

It’s surprisingly easy to make this at home. Most of the work is making the marinade which is just…. mixing the ingredients together. Then you cook it in an air fryer. It’s a pretty straightforward recipe!
When you’re feeling fancy, you can make the noodles, carrots, and nuoc cham to go with the lemongrass chicken. When you’re feeling lazy, this is perfect with just some jasmine rice (and nuoc cham is perfect with rice as well).
It’s packed with flavor. The combination of lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, and soy sauce is perfection.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make air fryer lemongrass chicken.

garlic — I love fresh garlic for this. Be sure to mince the garlic finely.
lemongrass — if you do not have lemongrass, try using lemongrass paste.
fish sauce — fish sauce is made from a mixture of fish and salt that has been allowed to ferment for up to two years. It’s fishy and salty so a little bit will go a long way.
soy sauce — use low sodium soy sauce when possible.
lime juice — I always recommend using fresh lime juice and not bottled lime juice as it tastes more bright and fresh.
brown sugar — light or dark brown sugar is fine for this lemongrass chicken recipe.
red chili flakes — just a pinch!
chicken thighs — I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
nuoc cham — this is optional but recommended. I usually make this the night before so the flavors can meld overnight in the fridge. All you need to make this is water, sugar, fish sauce, garlic, Thai chili peppers, and lime juice. You can also buy a store-bought bottle as well.

My Recommendation

This is the air fryer I use. I love how large this air fryer is! It can fit a whole chicken or 2 bags of frozen French fries!

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How to Make Air Fryer Lemongrass Chicken

Set of two photos showing a bowl of chicken thighs with the marinade.

In a small or shallow bowl, combine the minced garlic, lemongrass, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and red chili flakes with the chicken thighs.
Cover and set aside in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes or more or overnight in the fridge.

Set of two photos showing marinated chicken thighs in an air fryer basket.

Add a liner to the air fryer basket if you choose to, and add the chicken thighs to it in a single layer. Avoid overlapping them. A tiny bit is ok, but you’ll have to shift them halfway through as the chicken thighs will shrink as they cook.
Air fry at 400F for 10 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the chicken thighs until all done.

Set of two photos showing the noodle bowls before and after adding sliced lemongrass chicken thighs.

Enjoy the chicken with your side of choice, or assemble a noodle bowl to serve with your chicken. In my noodle bowl, I have cooked vermicelli noodles, pickled carrots, sliced cucumbers, mint, cilantro, lettuce, and nuoc cham.

Recipe Tips and Notes

These air fried Vietnamese lemongrass chicken thighs are cooked for 10 minutes. Depending on your air fryer, I would check in on them around the 8-minute mark. The sugar and soy sauce in the marinade will burn if they overcook these. When put in for 15 minutes, I had more dark spots than I would have preferred. The minced lemongrass and garlic will burn as well.
The internal temperature of the chicken thighs should reach 165°F (74°C) once cooked. Use an instant read thermometer to check.

My Recommendation

This is my go-to meat thermometer for making sure that the internal temperature of my meat is good to go. It’s also magnetic so I have it on my fridge door to save drawer space!

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Let the chicken thighs rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing so the juices redistribute inside the chicken thighs.
Chicken thighs can be swapped out for chicken breasts, but you’ll have to change the cooking time.
Don’t have an air fryer? Try my skillet lemongrass chicken thighs.
The smaller the bowl you use to marinade your chicken in, the less marinade you’ll need!
I like to serve with an additional lime wedge as I love the tartness of limes, but that’s optional.

Overhead view of a plate of air fryer lemongrass chicken noodle bowl.

How do I make Nuoc Cham

Add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of fish sauce to 1½ cup of hot water. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to allow it to cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, combine the liquid with 5 cloves of minced garlic, 3-5 minced Thai chili peppers, and the juice of 2 limes.
Refrigerate until ready to use, serve chilled.

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: once cooled, store the cooked lemongrass chicken in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Noodle bowl meal prep: you can serve the Vietnamese noodle bowls straight from the fridge. I love how I can enjoy them chilled, especially on a hot day or when the microwave at work has a line.
Freezer: allow the air fryer chicken thighs to cool before transferring them into an airtight container and storing them in the freezer. They can last for up to 3 months.

Overhead view of a meal prep container of air fryer lemongrass chicken, noodles, carrots, cilantro, cucumber, and nuoc cham.

FAQ’s

What is lemongrass?

Lemongrass is an herb that smells like its namesake, lemon. It’s made from stalks of the lemongrass plant and is grown in tropical climates. So what does lemongrass taste like? Lemongrass is like a mix between lemon and ginger.

When using fresh lemongrass, you want to remove the bottom bulb of the stalk and remove any thick and tough outer “husk.” Be sure to avoid lemongrass that looks or feels brittle and the colour of them has started brown.

Do I line my air fryer?

This is up to you, to be honest. There are pros and cons to lining the air fryer.

Air frying lemongrass chicken directly in the air fryer basket (with a spray of oil) gives you the best results. However, cleaning the air fryer basket can be extra work.

Air frying the chicken with tin foil is the method that will leave you with the least amount of cleaning. However, the bottom of the chicken won’t crisp up as the liquid will pool, and you won’t have the gaps to let air circulate. You’ll have to flip the chicken. However, it doesn’t really bother me, so I don’t flip it.

Air frying the chicken with parchment with holes like in my air fryer gochujang chicken recipe, is like the middle ground between the two as the holes let the air pass through and liquid to drip off. However, there will still be cleaning up involved.

Lining or not lining is less of an issue if you are only cooking half a batch as I simply place the basket in the dishwasher after. But when cooking in 2 to 3 batches, the marinade that has dripped off will cook onto the bottom of the air fryer and be harder to clean off.

Close up of sliced air fryer lemongrass chicken thighs over some noodles, cucumber, and pickled carrots.

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