Pan-Fried Lemongrass Chicken

 

5 pieces of chicken thighs, boneless

2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped (approximately 1 cup)

5 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

chopped cilantro (optional, for garnish)

 

In a ziploc bag, combine chicken, chopped lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and pepper. [Note: To make things easy, I chopped up the lemongrass in a food processor.] Add cayenne pepper if you want this to be spicy. Seal and shake ziploc bag to evenly disperse marinade with the chicken. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but preferably for 2 hours. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Place chicken on the pan and cook for 7 minutes per side, or until each side is nicely browned and the internal temperature of the thighs is 165ËšF (75ËšC). Slice into strips and serve over a bowl of steamed white rice sprinkled with sesame seeds. Garnish with chopped cilantro.  Notes: Make sure to marinate the chicken. The key to this recipe, and the key to achieving tender, juicy chicken thighs every single time is the lemongrass marinade. You need to make sure that the chicken sits in the marinade for at least 1 hour (personally, I prefer 2 hours). So yes, although this is the perfect weeknight meal because it takes less than 25 minutes to prep and cook, you do need to think ahead about the time you need to allow the chicken to marinate.  When preparing lemongrass, only use the middle part of the stalk where the flavor is (the green part). Discard about 1 inch from the bottom and two inches from the top (there’s no flavor in these parts).