Summer is here and that means that it is time to get some more grilling on! Up first, I thought that I would start with a light dish in the form of some Vietnamese style grilled lemongrass chicken. The chicken is marinated in a marinade that focuses on some amazingly fragrant lemongrass which as its name suggests has the aroma of lemons. The marinade builds up it flavour with shallots, garlic and ginger and then adds aspects of sweet, salty and spicy in the form of sugar, fish sauce and chilies. After being coated in the marinade the chicken is then left to chill out in the fridge to absorb all of the flavours of the marinade. If you are short on time you can cut the marinade time down but the longer the chicken has to marinate the better and ideally this should be done the night before.
With a few minutes of grilling the chicken is ready. This lemongrass grilled chicken makes for a great appetizer when served with some nuoc cham, a Vietnamese dipping sauce. Cucumbers or even simple pickled cucumbers are a great way to cleanse the palate in between bites.
With summer here now, what are your favourite skewered grilled meat dishes?
Grilled Lemongrass Chicken
Fragrant lemongrass chicken grilled on a stick.
Servings: makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 stalks lemongrass, peeled and chopped
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 birds eye chili, seeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound chicken breast, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
Directions
- Mash the lemongrass, shallot, garlic, ginger and chili in a mortar and pestle.
- Mix the mashed mixture and the sugar, oyster sauce, fish sauce and oil and marinate the chicken for at least an hour, covered in the fridge.
- Skewer the chicken and grill over medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.
If you are looking for something a little more substantial you can easily add the lemongrass chicken to a salad and a Vietnamese style rice vermicelli salad is the perfect way to do it. This salad starts with a base of the lemon grass chicken and rice vermicelli and then it fills out with fresh vegetables including lettuce, carrots, cucumber and beansprouts. Of course there just had to be a healthy dose of fresh herbs and this time I went with mint, though cilantro or basil would also be perfectly at home in this salad as well. For the 'dressing' I went with nuoc cham, a Vietnamese dipping sauce which is particularly nice with its balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy.
Lemongrass Chicken Rice Vermicelli Salad
Grilled lemongrass chicken served over a rice noodle salad with vegetables tossed in a Vietnamese dipping sauce style dressing.
Servings: makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 (ounces) rice vermicelli, cooked as directed on the package
- 1 batch lemongrass chicken, warm
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 1/2 cup carrot, shredded
- 1/2 cup cucumber, shredded
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1/4 cup mint
- 1/4 cup Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham)
Directions
- Assemble salad and enjoy.
Similar Recipes:
Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Grilled Tandoori Chicken
Dakkochi (Korean Skewered Chicken)
Yakitori
