How to make a rich, warm Lemongrass Chili Chicken dish for the transition into winter
Lemongrass Chili Chicken is fragrant, with the refreshing aroma of lemongrass, combined with the warmth of ginger and chili, very enticing. The chicken meat is moist and rich in flavor. This is a delicious savory dish made from chicken that is no less than ginger-baked chicken or turmeric-stewed chicken...
Ingredients
- 1.5-1.6kg of free-range chicken meat
- 6-8 lemongrass stalks
- Hot chili, bird's eye chili (if available)
- 4 dry onions, 3 garlic cloves, 1 ginger root
- 6-8 lime leaves
- Rock salt
- Spices: fish sauce, flavoring powder, MSG, sugar, soy sauce, ground pepper
Instructions
Preparing the Chicken
Firstly, rub the free-range chicken with coarse salt and ginger wine to clean and remove any unpleasant odors, then rinse and drain the chicken. Next, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
In a mortar, add a small piece of ginger, a dry onion, 2-3 lime leaves, and a few bird's eye chilies, and hot chilies. Crush them into small pieces. Add a tablespoon of coarse salt and continue to pound until the mixture is smooth. Then, add this mixture to the chicken to marinate.
Also, season the chicken with the following ingredients:
- 1/2 tablespoon of seasoning powder
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of MSG
- 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon of sugar to soften the chicken. If you like a slightly sweet Southern-style chicken, you can add a bit more sugar.
Mix well and let the chicken marinate for about 15 minutes.
Preparing the Other Ingredients
For the lemongrass, remove the outer layer, clean, crush, and cut into small pieces. You can cut the top into 3-4cm segments. As this is lemongrass chicken, we will use a little more lemongrass. For a 1.6kg chicken, you can use 6-8 small lemongrass stalks.
Finely chop the onions and ginger.
Depending on your preference for spiciness, you can slice, crush, or segment the hot chilies. If you can't handle spicy food, you can use green bird's eye chilies or horn chilies, which are only slightly spicy.
Clean the lime leaves and cut them into fine strings. Adding some lime leaves will make the chicken more fragrant.
Stewing the Chicken with Lemongrass and Chili
Fry onions, ginger, chili, and lemongrass until fragrant. Keep some lemongrass to add towards the end to enhance the aroma.
Fry these ingredients until they turn golden and more fragrant, then drizzle a bit of fish sauce for an enhanced taste.
Next, add the chicken and fry it. Increase the heat slightly and fry until the chicken is cooked and has a rich flavor.
Once the chicken is cooked, add water to barely cover the chicken for stewing. If you have fresh coconut water, use it to stew the chicken, it will give a very sweet, refreshing, and slightly rich flavor.
When the stew starts to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer gently. Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce for a richer chicken flavor. Cover the pot and stew for about 20 minutes until the chicken is tender.
After about 20 minutes, add the remaining lemongrass and stir well. If you want it spicier, you can add some chili powder. Adjust the seasoning to taste, including fish sauce, soy sauce, and a bit of MSG. Continue to stew for about 5 more minutes.
Finally, add the lime leaves, sprinkle a bit of ground pepper, and turn off the heat.
The lemongrass and chili stewed chicken is very fragrant, with the sweet aroma of lemongrass, the heat of chili, and the refreshing hint of lime leaves making this dish very appealing. The chicken is rich, spicy, and perfect with rice.
Wishing you a successful cooking experience with this dish!
