Lemongrass chicken over lemongrass coconut rice

The chicken I think of as a recipe from my friend Ryan, because we got so stuck on it that it seemed like we were making it almost weekly for a while. But in reality it's a recipe from Steven Raichlen, off of the website Star Chefs, which we modified just a tiny bit.

Lemongrass Chicken

• 1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 Tbs. honey
• 1 Tbs. fish sauce
• 2 to 3 stalks fresh lemongrass (at least 2 tablespoons minced)
• 1 1/2 Tbs. canola oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Wash and dry the chicken and trim off any fat. Cut the chicken breast across the grain on the diagonal into 1/8-inch strips. Cut these strips into 2-inch pieces. Combine the chicken, honey, and fish sauce in a bowl and stir to mix. Let marinate for 5 to 10 minutes. Trim the green leaves and root end off the lemongrass stalk and strip off the outside leaves. Mince the core finely.

Just before serving, heat a wok (preferably nonstick) over high heat and swirl in the oil. Add the garlic and lemongrass and stir-fry until fragrant but not brown, about 15 seconds. Add the chicken and stir-fry until the pieces turn white, about 1 minute. Move the chicken to the sides of the wok and add the onion to the center. Stir-fry until the onion loses its rawness, about 1 minute. Mix the chicken back in the center of the wok, add the soy sauce, continue stir-frying until the chicken is cooked, 2 to 3 minutes. Correct the seasoning, adding honey or fish sauce to taste. The dish should be a little sweet and salty. Sprinkle the chicken with the cilantro and serve at once.


We ate the chicken with lemongrass-scented coconut rice--yes, redundant, but good. We had the rice left over from dinner a couple of nights ago. It's from a new cookbook by James Oseland, Cradle of Flavor, about which we're pretty excited. We also had Sambal in the Style of Java, from Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys & Chowchows by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby both nights, but I won't reproduce that here.

Lemongrass-Scented Coconut Rice

2 cups jasmine rice
3 thick stalks lemongrass, tied into a knot
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. kosher salt

Place the rice in a 2 quart saucepan and rinse four times with cold water. Add the lemongrass, cooking water, coconut milk and salt to the rinsed rice. Stir well to combine, making sure the lemongrass stalks are as fully submerged in the rice as possible. Place the pot over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring with a large spoon to prevent scorching or burning. Allow the rice to boil for 15 seconds, still stirring, then reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover tightly with a lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Without removing lid, remove the pot from the heat and allow to continue to steam for ten additional minutes, away from the heat. Discard lemongrass, gently fold and fluff rice, and serve.

Oseland includes optional daun salam leaves in cooking, and fried shallots for topping, but we just make it simply. This time we tried it in the rice cooker; it was a small bit browned on the bottom, but not burnt, and worked well.