Lemongrass Chicken

This has become one of our very favorite meals. It's so fresh, light and flavorful. We've started cooking it more because we've finally found lemongrass in Little Rock! 

I remember the first few times we tried cooking this and Brian spent like 2 days driving around Little Rock looking for lemongrass. One day, I'm casually strolling OUR Kroger and BAM there it is. So we try cooking it a couple weeks later, Kroger has no lemongrass and we're back to square one. UNTIL we found the K Oriental Store out in West Little Rock. It's safe to say that it's our new favorite store. We no longer have to order all these things on Amazon! 

So anyway- lemongrass chicken is so yum. We eat it with rice and my favorite wok green beans. You really can't beat this meal. It's excellent and delicious and all the really good food words. Try it! And go ahead and make that nuoc cham to serve with it. I was hesitant the first few times but it's really grown on me and I actually think it pairs quite nicely. 

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves, chopped 

1 shallot, roughly chopped

1 small green chili, such as a Serrano or jalapeno, chopped

1/4 C chopped lemongrass, from the meaty parts of 2 stalks

2T fish sauce

2T neutral oil, plus more if needed

2t sugar

1/2t kosher salt

1/2t turmeric

4 bone-in, skin on chicken legs (we cook thighs too)

+ lime wedges

+cooked rice

Directions:

Blend the garlic, shallot, chili, lemongrass, fish sauce, oil, sugar, salt and turmeric until smooth.

Place the chicken in a zip-lock bag and pour the marinade over. Seal the bag and massage the marinade into the legs to make sure they are coated. Marinate in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 48 hours. 

When ready to cook, heat the oven to 400 or set up a grill for indirect cooking (in a charcoal grill, heap the coals on one side of the kettle so there's a hot zone and a cooler zone)

Remove the chicken from the marinade, scraping off excess to avoid burning. Pour the marinade into a bowl and set aside. 

Serve the chicken with lime wedges, rice, herbs and nuoc cham. 

To cook:

For Roasting: Place the legs skin-side up on a rack set inside a roasting pan. Roast for 45 minutes, basting twice with some of the reserved marinade during the last 15 minutes of cooking. 

For grilling: Wipe the grate with an oiled paper towel and set the legs skin-side down over the hottest part of the fire for 2 to 3 minutes to brown the skin. Flip and sear the reverse side. Move to a slightly cooler spot on the grill, cooking indirectly over the coals to avoid flare-ups, for about 30 minutes. Brush with some reserved marinade and cook, flipping often over the hot coals, until a crust forms and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving. 

Nuoc Cham Recipe:

1/2C fish sauce

1/4C water

1/4C lime juice

2T light brown sugar

1 garlic cloove, minced

1/2t sambal oelek

Combine the fish sauce, water, lime juice, sugar, garlic and sambal. Adjust the consistency with a little more water, if very thick, or more sambal if you like it spicy. Nuoc cham keeps, refrigerated, for up to a week. 

Enjoy! XOXO :) 

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