Lemongrass Ginger Chicken

This Lemongrass Ginger Chicken is quick, easy, and super flavorful, perfect for any busy weeknight. Combine it with a side of Instant Pot plain white rice or Coconut Rice for a delicious Asian-inspired dish. Defrost some frozen broccoli and voilà! Dinner is ready in less than half an hour.

The lemongrass and ginger in the marinade give these chicken thighs a slightly zingy flavor that will leave you asking for more! I recommend making a double batch of this recipe so you can have seconds, or meal prep a delicious lunch for the week.

These juicy chicken thighs are so good that you will want to save this to your collection of favorite chicken dinner recipes.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken Thighs – I recommend skinless boneless chicken thighs. The marinate contains lemongrass and ginger and both burn fairly quickly and easily with long pan-frying times. Bone-in/skin-on thighs take up to 3 times as long to cook as boneless skinless. Chicken breasts work too, but chicken thighs are usually more flavorful.
• Marinade – lemongrass, ginger, and garlic are the most important ingredients of the chicken marinade so I don’t recommend replacing them. Fresh garlic, however, can be replaced with 1/2 tsp of dry garlic. Avocado oil can always be substituted by any other flavorless oil. Honey is preferred but brown sugar works perfectly. Add sea salt to taste, you can always add more later.
• Scallions – you can also use green onions, which are practically the same. Make sure to only use the green part. You can save the white part for another recipe.
• Chicken Broth – you could also use beef broth or vegetable broth if you prefer.
• Coconut Sugar – any sugar works, but coconut sugar and brown sugar are my favorite.
• Soy Sauce – you can replace soy sauce with tamari sauce to make it gluten free. If you want the marinade soy-free use coconut aminos.
• Rice Vinegar – the taste of rice vinegar is very mild and adds a special taste to the sauce, but it can always be replaced with lime juice or any other vinegar.
• Sesame Oil – I highly recommend adding sesame oil to the sauce. Its flavor is also mild but it adds that extra special taste to the recipe. If you don’t have any on hand, you can omit it.

How to Make Lemongrass Ginger Chicken

1. Grate Lemongrass – depending on how fresh or old it is, lemongrass can be pretty tough and fibrous. The flavor is so amazing but the texture not so much. What I found is the absolute best method is using a microplane and grating the lemongrass extra finely. Remove at least one outer layer and cut off the dry ends, then go ahead and grate it with the microplane. Once you have grated it all, add it to a shallow bowl.
2. Grate Ginger – peel a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger and then use the microplane again to also grate the ginger. Then add the grated ginger to the lemongrass into the shallow bowl.
3. Grate Garlic – to grate the garlic you can also use the microplane, but I find it easier and faster to just use a garlic press. Press the cloves right into the same bowl. Add sea salt to taste, avocado oil, and honey to the rest of the ingredients.
4. Mix Marinade – use a spatula to mix all the ingredients in the bowl until well combined.
5. Marinate Chicken Thighs – add a pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs to the lemongrass ginger marinade, and use your hands to make sure the thighs are well covered in it. Then set it aside and let it marinate for 15 minutes on the counter or up to two hours in the fridge.
6. Slice Scallions – finely slice 3 – 4 scallions, only the green part. You can save the white part for another recipe.
7. Sear Chicken Thighs – preheat a large pan over medium LOW heat. It’s important that the pan is on medium-low so the garlic and lemongrass don’t burn. Once the pan is nice and hot, add the marinated chicken leaving enough space between the thighs. Sear it for 4-5 minutes on one side and 3-4 minutes on the other side until golden brown. Work in two batches in order not to crowd the pan, otherwise, steam gets trapped if the thighs are too close together and the chicken doesn’t sear properly.
8. Make the Sauce – once you remove the second batch of chicken thighs, add chicken broth to the hot pan and start scraping off the burnt bits and pieces from the bottom with your spatula. Then add coconut sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil, and mix well.
9. Assemble – add the chicken back into the pan and turn around to cover well in the sauce, then let simmer for another minute or two. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the finely sliced scallions on top, and then serve with rice and broccoli. Make sure you drizzle some of the sauce over everything and enjoy!

Lemongrass Ginger Chicken

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

This Lemongrass Ginger Chicken is quick, easy, and super flavorful, perfect for any busy weeknight.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs
• ▢ 1 lemongrass
• ▢ 2 inch piece ginger
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic
• ▢ sea salt
• ▢ 2 Tbsp avocado oil
• ▢ 1 Tbsp honey
• ▢ 3-4 scallions
• ▢ 1/4 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
• ▢ 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• ▢ 1/2 tsp sesame oil

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Instructions

• Make the chicken marinade by adding super finely sliced lemongrass, ginger, and garlic to a shallow bowl. I remove the outer layer of the lemongrass and cut off the dry ends then use a microplane to grate. For the ginger I peel it and use the microplane as well. And for the garlic I use a garlic press. Then add sea salt, avocado oil, and honey to the bowl as well and mix until well combined.
• Add the chicken to the marinade and use your hands to ensure the chicken is well coated. Then let marinate on the counter for 15 minutes of up to 2 hours in the fridge.
• In the meantime prepare your side dishes. I like serving this over rice and with broccoli on the side.
• Preheat a large pan over medium-low heat and once very hot add your chicken thighs in two batches to sear 3-4 minutes on one side, then flip and sear another 3-4 minutes on the other. Set aside.
• Add chicken broth and deglaze the pan, then add coconut sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil and give a quick stir.
• Put the chicken back into the pan and coat with the sauce, then let simmer for about 1 minute.
• Sprinkle with freshly liced scallions and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 617mg | Potassium: 367mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 117IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, International

Keyword lemongrass ginger chicken

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