Morsels of chicken cooked with fragrant lemongrass and simmered in silky, creamy coconut milk – that’s how I would describe this lemongrass chicken!
Will we ever get bored of chicken? The answer is no! We all have some favourites, for me it’s this granma’s chicken curry, and a palate to try some new delicacies. I am always on the lookout to come up with newer ways to cook chicken. This lemongrass chicken belongs to that category.
It’s inspired by various Asian cuisines. But I haven’t used some of the signature ingredients that you see in Thai cuisine, like fish sauce! My recipe uses only those ingredients that are easy to get hold of, viz. ginger, garlic, onions, curry leaves, capsicum, and even lemongrass!
Lemongrass is a culinary herb popularly used in various Asian cuisines. It adds a refreshing yet subtle citrusy flavour to the dishes. I have used fresh lemongrass in this recipe. But you could use the dried variety as well.
As with all our recipes, this lemongrass chicken is also an easy one to cook. We’ll start by frying the ingredients one after another – lemongrass and ginger, then garlic and green chillies, followed by capsicum and curry leaves. The idea is to slowly infuse all these flavours into the oil. Then we add chopped onions and the powdered spices – turmeric and coriander. The base is ready.
We’ll use boneless chicken. Bite-sized chicken pieces are mixed in the lemongrass base and cooked to perfection. We’ll finish off by adding coconut milk. That’s the last touch. Without boiling the coconut milk, we’ll simmer for a few minutes. The coconut milk will soak up some of the great flavours of the cooked chicken, and impart a nice, creamy note to the curry.
That’s it!! Lemongrass Chicken is ready! Serve hot with some rice! Enjoy!!
Lemongrass Chicken
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken boneless
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 3 stalks lemongrass
- 2-3 green chilies
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 1 inch ginger julienned
- 6 pods garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 capsicum (bell pepper) diced
- 1 cup coconut milk
- salt
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- Cilantro (Coriander leaves) to garnish
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
Instructions
- Prep the ingredients. Use only the lemongrass stalks. Remove the thick outer layers, chop into 3-inch pieces. Crush and bruise them using a knife.
- Heat some oil in a deep-bottomed pan and fry the lemongrass and ginger on a medium flame. Give it a stir and cook for a minute.
- Add garlic, green chillies, and curry leaves to the pan. Mix well and cook for a minute or two.
- Now add the capsicum pieces and cook for 3 minutes.
- Finely chopped onions are added next.
- Cook till the onions are tender. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, and salt.
- Stir well and cook for 3 minutes. Now add the chicken pieces. Mix well to get all the chicken pieces coated with the cooked mix in the pan.
- Close the lid and cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked well. You don't have to add any water.
- Open the lid. You can see that the juices have all come out and chicken is cooked well.
- Cook for a minute on a high flame. Reduce to low, add the coconut milk, mix well and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add more salt if required.
- Do NOT bring to boil. Switch off. Garnish with cilantro (coriander leaves). Serve hot with some rice.
Your recipe doesn’t state how much turmeric or coriander to use.
Hi Christie,
Good catch. Thank you.
I am updating the post now.
Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.
Thank you very much, Ashok.
Yummy! This is an ultimate chicken recipe which I can’t wait to try, Arun! Your post made my mouth watering!
Oh wow this looks so incredible and flavorful! I love lemongrass. I am definitely making this soon.
Hi Leigh, Thank you!!! 🙂 I am sure you’ll love it!! Please let me know after you have tried it!
This looks really delicious! I love quick and easy meals, and it is always nice to try something new.
Thank you Keri!! This is definitely worth a try!!
How much turmeric and coriander powder? It’s not on the ingredients list. Thanks in advance!
Hi Andrea,
Good catch.
Thank you.
Please use – Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon and coriander powder 1 teaspoon.
This looks delicious! However, the recipe does not list green chillies as an ingredient but the instrustions state to add them in with the curry leaves. How much green chillies?
Thank you very much, Patti.
That was a good catch. I had missed out on listed the green chillies in the ingredients.
I have updated it now. You can have 2-3 based on the heat.
Thank you again. 🙂
I’m actually going to try this recipe this evening. Great post and very easy to follow
Thank you very much Natalie. I am sure you’ll like it!