When it comes to weeknight chicken dinners, I think Asian stir fry dishes are up at the top. If you have the ingredients, they are usually quick and easy to put together and make the best leftover dishes. Today’s recipe, Thai Lemongrass Chicken, is my 2nd go-to Asian weeknight dinner recipe that I put on our weekly rotation during this time of the year.
If you are wondering, the first one is this Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry followed by Chicken with Sesame Noodles.
It is hot outside and most days I don’t feel like spending too much time in front of the stove. My solution to that problem is usually to make salads, but sometimes we need a break from all things green and need some substance in our stomach. This dish, in that context, checks all the boxes.
Thai Lemongrass Chicken Recipe
This recipe has two folds. First, you make lemongrass paste and let your chicken marinate in it for 10-15 minutes. Second, you cook the chicken and top it off with all the goodies, which I am going to get to in a few minutes.
If you look at the recipe below, at first glance you might think that the ingredients list is long. While I agree with the fact that Asian cooking requires an initial ingredient investment, once you have the basics (i.e. rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, fresh ginger, lemongrass, sesame oil etc.) in your fridge, they last a long time. I buy almost every one of these ingredients from Trader Joe’s as I find their prices to be most economical.
Additionally, if you can’t get your hands on lemongrass or don’t want to deal with peeling it, I recommend using Gourmet Garden Lemongrass. As a matter of fact, I no longer bother with buying fresh lemongrass as I find this to be a much quicker and convenient alternative. They usually sell it in the herb section in grocery stores.
With that being said, the recipe below has instructions for both types of lemongrass.
The Crunch Factor AKA Toppings
In my opinion, what makes this lemongrass chicken recipe is the last minute addition of edamame beans and cashews. They add a little bit more protein as well as crunch into the overall dish.
I also topped it off with some scallions, hot chili pepper (totally optional), and sesame seeds, which are usual classic toppings for most Asian stir fry dishes such as this Sweet and Sour Stir Fry.
Expert Tips:
- As you can see in the video, in terms of chicken meat I used thighs as I find them to be more flavorful but if breasts are all you have, feel free to use breast meat instead.
- I served it on a bed of cooked brown rice, but you can also serve it over rice noodles and white rice.
- If you want to switch things up, you can swap edamame and cashews with snow peas and peanuts.
- You can make the chicken stir fry marinade a day (or two) ahead and keep it in a jar in the fridge.
Similar recipes you might also like:
- Spicy Thai Beef Salad
- Sweet Potato ‘Noodle’ Pad Thai
- Thai Vegetable Quinoa Bowl – That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Slow Cooker Thai Beef Curry
- Curry Tomato Soup
- Chicken Veggie Soup
- Weeknight Ramen Bowl
- Need more inspiration? Check out all our Asian Inspired recipes.
- Thai Beef Curry
- Salmon Coconut Chowder
Thai Lemongrass Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken thigh meat cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
For the Lemongrass Chicken Marinade/paste:
- 2 stalks of lemongrass chopped (inner white parts only) or 1 1/2 tablespoon Gourmet Garden Lemongrass
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 2- inch ginger peeled and cut into small pieces (1 tablespoon grated ginger)
- 1 serrano chile seeded and minced (optional) – more as garnish
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil divided
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken stock only used if necessary, for more info please read the notes
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1 cup edamame shelled
Toppings:
- 2 stalks of scallions green and white parts chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds optional
To Serve With:
- 4 cups cooked white brown rice, or rice noodles
Instructions
- Using paper towels, pat-dry the chicken thigh pieces. Place in a medium bowl.
- Process lemongrass, garlic, ginger, chili, honey, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, fish sauce, and rice vinegar in a food processor until they are well blended and paste-like.
- Toss the chicken with the lemongrass paste. Cover it with stretch film and place it in the fridge. Let it marinade for 15 minutes.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a wok or large pan (you can also use a 10-inch cast iron skillet) over medium heat.
- Stir in the soy sauce into the chicken mixture and give it a stir.
- Cook the chicken thigh pieces for 4-5 minutes on each side or until browned. (see note)
- If it dries and starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, add in some chicken stock. Simmer for a few minutes. Cook, stirring frequently until the chicken stock is reduced.
- Add in the cashews and mix until they are coated with the sauce. It will start getting caramelized.
- Stir in edamame at the last minute. Cook until warm, 3-4 minutes.
- Serve with rice and garnish it with chopped serrano chili (if using), scallions, cilantro, and sesame seeds.
Video
Notes
- When cooking the chicken, make sure that each piece have enough room to brown. If your pan is small, I’d recommend to cook the chicken into batches. You want to make sure that your chicken is throughly cooked before adding in the edamame and cashews.
- In terms of chicken meat, I used thighs as I find them to be more flavorful but if breasts are all you have, feel free to use breast meat instead.
- If you want to switch things up, you can swap edamame and cashews with snow peas and peanuts.
- You can make the chicken stir fry marinade a day (or two) ahead and keep it in a jar in the fridge.
Nutrition
This recipe was first published in 2014. It has been updated with new photos, a quick video and a few updates on the recipe.
Holly
I made this recipe vegan by swapping the chicken for tofu (marinated overnight) and substituting the honey for agave syrup. Delicious!
Thanks!
Holly
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Holly,
That sounds like a really good. I love that you marinated it overnight. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!
Ice
Carrol Smith
I found the proportions of chicken to the remainder of the dish overwhelming. And I did not get the big flavor burst you describe. If I did this again I would reduce the chicken to about one pound. And did you notice in the recipe you said to add the cashews to the meat and that they would caramelize? Then you said to add the cashews and the edamame just before serving. Which is it?
I was disappointed in this recipe. Sorry.
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Carrol,
I am very sorry to hear that you found the chicken to be overwhelming in proportion to the sauce. I make this dish often from my blog. Sadly, I didn’t realize the error in the recipe about the cashews. My bad, I just corrected it. I usually add the cashews right before adding the edamame.
I appreciate your input. Thanks.
Lori @ RecipeGirl
I’m in love with that delicious marinade!
Toni | Boulder Locavore
I love it! Packed full of amazing flavors!
Jennifer Farley
Fantastic flavors!
Joanne
This is the definition of flavorful AND healthy. So pretty too!
Carie
This looks fab
Melissa Sperka
This will make a stunning one dish meal!
Juliette
I tried this recipe today and it is very tasty! Love the combined flavors and it is perfect with the edamame. I had to use canned ones, but will try to find fresh ones next time so that the color does not turn, and then add them at the very end without really heating them.
Thanks for sharing, I will be sure to prepare this delicious dinner again.
Aysegul Sanford
Ahhh Juliette.. This is music to my ears. So happy to hear that you liked it. It is a favorite in our house too.
Thanks for coming back and leaving a review. It means so SO much to me.
Sending you big hugs from the green mountains of Vermont. ❤️
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
What a great meal for summertime… simple, packed with flavor and no turning on the oven! A win-win! That marinade looks amazing Ice – and the final dish SO beautifully captured too (and with video!!). xo
Asha Shiva
Love these kind of salads. It’s been awfully hot in the bay and we’ve been on a salad high. Love the lemongrass flavor, so fresh and ofcourse the cashews, yum!!
xx
Aysegul Sanford
This is such an easy to make and refreshing salad. So glad to hear you liked my friend. <3
Nussy
it’s look delicious!! I like that you use herbs for this dish. Especially lemongrass. Not only we can use it for cooking, but also we can make lemongrass tea. and here is about the benefits of herbal tea that I like to share.
http://aboutchia.com/blog/health-benefits-of-herbal-tea-facts-and-fiction.html
PS I will try cooking this dish to my family. I think they will like it.
Thank you.
Nussy ^^
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Nussy,
How nice of you to share this great article. Thank you for doing that.
I had never used lemongrass before I moved to the British Virgin Islands (where we currently live). It is in abundance here and I love it.
It is so good to know that it has so many health benefits as well.
I hope you and your family will like this recipe.
All the best from the sunny Caribbean.
Cheers!
Ice
Emily
hi Ayşegül,
came across your blog via women who live on rocks. Love it so much and all the wonderful recipes you have up. Living in Tortola I seem to have got stuck in a bit of a cooking rut, but your blog has filled me with inspiration for new meals.
One quick question for you which I hope you don’t mind – where on earth are you getting edamame beans from on VG? Only place I can find that will sell them is Origin and they charge a small fortune.
Thanks,
Emily
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Emily,
I am so glad you found me. 🙂
I totally understand what you mean about being stuck when it comes to cooking on an island. That was the reason why I started blogging about food.Talk about getting out of my comfort zone!!? :))
Supa Value is where I get edamame beans from and I do not think that they are that expensive. Don’t quote me on this, but i think I paid something like between $3 and $4 for a pack..
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers
Ice
Emily
Thanks so much – that’s great to know. Looking forward to making this a lot. Emily
Maggie
Interesting recipe! I like the idea of mixing everything with mixer and us it for marinating chicken. It’s difficult to find fresh lemongrass here. Wonder if it’s ok to used the dried ones. The recipe looks so delicious!
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Maggie,
Quite honestly, I have never used fresh lemongrass until we moved to the BVIs.
It is in abundance in the island we live on. That is why I made this recipe. Also, the locals say that it is the best medicine when you have a cold or fever. They boil it to make tea and drink it throughout the day. At first, I wasn’t a big fan but in time I got used to it. Lately I have been using it to flavor when I make green-tea ice tea. It is yummy. My husband thinks that it tastes like the bottled cold Tazo teas.
I don’t really know about the dried version. Do you guys use lemongrass in Chinese cooking? I know Thai cuisine uses it a lot.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers..
Ice
Caitlin
No restaurants?! Wow that must be hard. But hopefully it’s nice with no tourists around. This chicken dinner looks delicious.
Aysegul Sanford
Hey Caitlin,
Yup.. No restaurants.. or no maybe one..
Still, not enough. The good thing is that we have the whole island to ourselves. I will be doing a lot of shooting around the island, photographing the empty (but gorgeous) beaches of Virgin Gorda.
Thank you 🙂
Ice