So this recipe for sticky lemongrass chicken thighs is a bit of a take on Vietnamese chicken, but I haven’t traveled to Vietnam for quite a while. I love the flavors they are serving, and I’ve adapted and integrated these into some simple chicken dishes.
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What you need for this is:
- Chicken thighs, but 600g of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or I sometimes use them with the skin on as well, but boneless is what cooks quickly
- You’re also going to need some fresh lemongrass
- Garlic: fresh garlic is best; I think it’s got much stronger flavor
- You need soy sauce
- Fish sauce
- Some oyster sauce or honey brown sugar
- We’ll need some pickled chili flakes or fresh chili
- Black pepper and
- Sesame oil
Method
So first of all, we’re going to make the marinade for the chicken. Get your lemongrass ready, so you take off the green butt and peel back the outer layer, and then you cut it into two or three bits and give it a really good bash.
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Lemongrass is quite hard, so I wouldn’t suggest mincing it because it doesn’t really cut down. So you just get really horrible bits in your food. So I suggest just bashing it up to release the flavor. And then you’re going to put your lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and brown sugar in a bowl. Add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon of fish sauce, a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and give that a good mix around until you get a nice sticky marinade. Take your chicken thighs; give them a good coat, and then you’re going to leave them in the fridge covered for 30 minutes or ideally up to 24 hours.
Once you’ve left them marinating and absorbing all that delicious flavor, you’re going to get ready to cook, so you want a large skillet or frying pan, or you can actually do this in an air fryer as well. Cook the chicken thighs on medium Heat on a griddle first. Cook it about 5 minutes on each side to get a nice color, and then you can stick them in the air fryer for about 14 to 60 Minutes.
Or you can finish them in the oven again for about 14 minutes. Up to 180 degrees, about halfway through. You can take them out, and you can brush on some of the extra honey that you’ve got left, Suzuki, a nice sticky glaze. And then, once it’s cooked through, the chicken should be white all the way through.
