CHICKEN: Lemongrass Chicken

Don't ask me what cuisine it is. I had leftover lemongrass from planting and made this up. But it's frickin' delicious.

Tip: Make some rice. I prefer short grained rice (please don't call it sushi rice - I love sushi, but the Japanese don't have a patent on all things Asian). Jasmine works well too.

Okay, straight to it.

What You'll Need

• Whole chicken (Or cut up parts but don't get me started on that)

• Lemongrass

• Garlic (At least 3-4 cloves)

• Onion (At least 1 small one)

• Thai birds eye chili peppers (3+ whole ones)

• Sugar (quarter sized mount in palm)

• Fish sauce (5-6 splashes)

• Salt

For The Daring (TLDR)

1. Peel + Trim + Smash lemongrass

2. Slice up onion and lightly smash garlic

3. Cut up chicken into large pieces (about size of large wing drumlet).

4. Heat up a decent amount of oil in a wok or large pan on high heat

5. Throw in lemongrass > birds eye chili > onion > garlic in that order, 30 seconds apart each. Stir in between

6. Throw in chicken and stir here and there, flipping bottom to top until outside is cooked

7. Drop in the sugar and splash in fish sauce, and stir

8. Lower heat to medium and let cook in its own juices

9. Ready to eat when all of the chicken is cooked

More Detailed Instructions

1. Peel off dried outer bits of lemongrass until you get to the tender inside stalk, trim off the bottom just above the root knob, and trim off any of the top where it feels hollow to the touch. Good rule of thumb is often you'll see where it splits and you can cut a little below there. Smash - I use the back of my knife because I don't like having too many specific tools, but if you have a meat tenderizing mallet, go for it.

2. Slice up onion into about 1/2" wide strips and lightly smash garlic. No need to be super precise here, we just want it easy enough to cook without being so small it disintegrates easily.

3. Cut up chicken into large pieces to about the size of the wing drumlet (2"x1"x1" chunks). You're welcomed to cut it Asian style with bones attached - it's more flavorful for sure. I like to debone everything besides the wings and set bones aside for stock, plus it saves my precious knife from bone abuse.

4. Heat up a decent amount of oil in a wok or large pan on high heat. We're cooking a whole chicken so don't be shy about the oil. Half a cup +/- depending on how much you like fat.

5. Throw in lemongrass, birds eye chili, onion, garlic in that order, 30 seconds apart each. Stir in between

6. Throw in chicken and stir here and there, flipping bottom to top until outside is cooked

7. Drop in the sugar and splash in fish sauce, and stir

8. Lower heat to medium and let cook in its own juices. Make sure the pieces with bones are on the bottom since they take more heat to cook all the way through.

9. Ready to eat when all of the chicken is cooked

Eat it by itself or serve it over rice/noodles/hell even cauliflower rice. Enjoy your terrible new dish.

-TC