With a bright citrusy flavor with a hint of ginger, lemongrass is truly a grass that is used like an herb. It’s central to Thai, Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian, Indian and Caribbean cuisines. Here, it adds great flavor to a Thai-style marinade for chicken. For fine zest, use a microplane zester. Fish sauce is available in the Asian section of your market. I’ve listed it as optional, but it lends a great depth of flavor. Shred any leftover chicken for chicken salad and use lemongrass for fresh flavor.
1tablespoonjarred organic ginger puree or finely zested fresh ginger
1limejuiced
Instructions
Trim Chicken Breasts
Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil. Trim chicken breasts of any little rib bones and any excess fat. For an example of how to prep, see the photo in the post.
Marinate Chicken
Combine all of the rest of the ingredients (reserving 1 tablespoon oil for the pan) in a bowl or large measuring cup and whisk together. Pour into a zip bag with chicken, squeeze out air and seal. Refrigerate overnight or for 2 hours (as long as you can). Drain and discard marinade. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook Chicken
Heat a large stainless steel or cast iron fry pan, saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the reserved 2 teaspoons coconut oil to the pan. Sear chicken breasts skin-side down until golden. Turn chicken and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove chicken breasts to the rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven until a digital thermometer reaches 160-165 degrees, about 30 minutes depending on your oven.
Notes
Depending on where you buy lemongrass, you may need to start by peeling off a tough layer of the outer grass to get to the paler, softer inside. Some stores do this for you. Some sell it in a more natural state. Buy fresh-looking stalks that are a bit moist, not dried out, yellowed, browned or withered.