Packed with flavour and perfectly juicy, this Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Thighs recipe is perfect as a quick weeknight meal or as part of a weekly meal prep. Topped with a scallion oil garnish and served with a side of rice, it’ll have you reaching for seconds.
As someone who’s super picky about Vietnamese food thanks to my parents for making it regularly at home for me growing up, I can’t justify paying for just ok Vietnamese take out. And ever since moving and not being able to find an authentic restaurant that makes it the way I like, I pretty much have been making it at home. While I do miss the “authentic” Ga Nuong that’s been grilled to perfection, this stove top version hits the spot!
Why You’ll Love This Vietnamese Chicken Recipe
- It’s surprisingly easy to make this at home. Like easy enough that I would entrust H to make it for us for dinner if I’m feeling lazy. Most of the work is making the marinade which is just…. mixing the ingredients together. Then you cook it in a cast iron pan. It’s a pretty straight forward recipe!
- It’s flavourful thanks to the marinade and lemongrass especially. It can be easy to get bored of chicken recipes so this one really changes things up.
- It’s a freezer friendly recipe. If you’ve got the ingredients, you can prep this for the freezer ahead of time. Then when you’re thawing it overnight, it’ll marinate at the same time and come dinner time, you’ll have it done faster than your rice will cook!
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 tastes 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 feel brittle and the colour of them have started brown.
What You’ll Need to Make 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
- chicken thighs — I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- olive oil — or a netural oil of your choice.
- peanut oil or vegetable oil + green onions for the scallion oil topping — green onions and scallions are the same thing.
How to Make Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Thighs
- 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.
- On medium heat, heat up your skillet (preferably cast iron) and coat with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil before adding in the chicken thighs, smooth side down and then cook for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches if necessary.
- Serve with cooked rice or your grain of choice if desired.
How to Make the Scallion Oil
- Wash the green oils and trim off the tops and bottoms. Pat them dry and slice them up and transfer them to a heat proof dish.
- Add oil to a pot or skillet and heat on medium high heat for around 30 seconds. Test if it’s ready by dropping one piece of sliced green onion into it. It should sizzle.
- Carefully pour the hot oil into the bowl of green onions and stir to combine.
- Serve with the lemongrass chicken thighs.
Tips and Notes
- Chicken thighs are done when they’ve reached an internal temperature of 165F/74C. Use an instant read thermometer to check.
- Avoid moving the chicken when you first place it in. Allow the chicken to sear. The chicken will come off the skillet once it’s ready. If you move it too early, the chicken will stick to the skillet and tear.
- Chicken thighs can be swapped out for chicken breasts but you’ll have to change the cook time to avoid overcooking it.
- Allow the cast iron skillet to heat up before adding the chicken to the pan.
- The smaller the bowl you use to marinade your chicken in, the less marinade you’ll need!
- Coconut rice goes really well with this lemongrass chicken as well.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: store the cooked chicken in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. I usually like to pack this with some rice and sliced carrots! I use little sauce containers to store the scallion oil in my meal prep container.
- Freezer: allow the chicken thighs to cool before transferring it into an airtight container before storing them in the freezer.
- How to prep this for the freezer: place the marinade and chicken thighs in a large freezer friendly ziploc bag, to prep this meal ahead of time. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready, thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking.
Lemongrass Chicken Thighs
Packed with flavour and perfectly juicy, this Lemongrass Chicken Thighs recipe is perfect as a quick weeknight meal or as part of a weekly meal prep. Topped with a scallion oil garnish and served with a side of rice, it’ll have you reaching for seconds.
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Servings: 4 servings
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
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
Scallion Oil, Optional
- 1 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 bunch green onions, around 5-6 per bunch
Instructions
- 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 to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes or more or overnight in the fridge.
- On medium heat, heat up your skillet (preferably cast iron) and coat with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil before adding in the chicken thighs, smooth side down and then cook for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches if necessary.
- Serve with cooked rice or your grain of choice if desired.
Scallion Oil, Optional
- Wash the green oils and trim off the tops and bottoms. Pat them dry and slice them up, and transfer them to a heat-proof dish.
- Add oil to a pot or skillet and heat on medium-high heat for around 30 seconds. Test if it’s ready by dropping one piece of sliced green onion into it. It should sizzle.
- Carefully pour the hot oil into the bowl of green onions and stir to combine.
- Serve with the lemongrass chicken thighs.
Notes
- The calories estimate does not include the scallion oil.
Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥
Nutrition Per Serving
Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 1141mg | Potassium: 699mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 212IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 3mg
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Jess says
I make this once a week for dinner now. Such a good recipe!