Vietnamese Spicy Lemongrass Chicken

Does anyone else grow lemongrass in their garden? I love the flavor and discovered a few years ago that it grows really well here in North Carolina in the summer. I’ve been growing it ever since. It can be frozen by trimming the top of the stalks, peeling off the hard outer layers, and freezing the remaining, more tender lower stalk pieces. Then you can pull out what you need from the freezer. Vietnamese spicy lemongrass chicken is the perfect recipe to use fresh lemongrass.

This is a really simple dish, but it has a ton of flavor. As with most recipes that use lemongrass, the tender parts are minced into an almost paste. The lemongrass paste combined with shallot, garlic, fish sauce and sambal hot sauce is a tasty combination. I used boneless chicken breasts for this, but you could also use boneless thighs if you prefer that.

I served this with hot white rice and pickled sesame cucumbers. This chicken also makes a fantastic add in to any Asian noodle dish. If you can’t find fresh lemongrass you can also use the lemongrass paste that you can buy in the produce section of the supermarket. I do this in the winter if there is no fresh. I don’t find it has as much flavor though, so if you can find fresh for this dish it is a lot better.

This is a great intro to Vietnamese food since it requires very few special ingredients, and is really simple to cook. I hope that you give it a try and love it!