Vietnamese lemongrass chicken
Sticky, caramelized chicken bites with lemongrass, garlic and a little chile heat, spooned over jasmine rice with cool cucumber.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.74 a serving
- 600 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ lb boneless chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
- 3 tbsp lemongrass paste, divided
- 2 tbsp fish sauce, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp brown sugar, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 600 calories, 40 g protein, 73 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.74 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No boneless chicken thighs? Chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work.
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces and them with 1 tablespoon of the lemongrass paste, 1 tablespoon each of the fish sauce and brown sugar, the garlic and pepper. Cover it, put it in the fridge, and wash your hands and the board.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
the rice and bring it in a with the water.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: The chicken marinates while the rice cooks, so there’s no extra waiting.Heat the oil in a large over medium-high until it . Spread the chicken in one layer and leave it alone 3 to 4 minutes, until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: The sugar browns fast. Deep brown is good; if it starts to look black, turn the heat down a notch.Stir and cook 3 minutes more, then add the shallots, the rest of the lemongrass paste and the pepper flakes and 2 minutes, .
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Add the rest of the fish sauce and brown sugar with 2 tablespoons of water and 1 to 2 minutes, until the chicken is glossy, sticky and cooked through.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Spoon the chicken and its sauce over the rice, with the cucumber on the side and cilantro on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Easy chicken stir-fry
30 min
Chicken and broccoli
40 min
Vietnamese caramel chicken
40 min
String bean chicken
35 min
High-protein dinners ›Beginner dinners ›What to make with chicken and rice ›What to make with rice and cucumber ›What to make with chicken and cucumber ›