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This recipe is a wonderful combination of juicy chicken, crispy skin, and fragrant lemongrass. Although this is a staple at many Vietnamese restaurants, it’s so incredibly easy to make at home especially with the use of the Air Fryer. Once you see how simple it is, you’ll realize you don’t need to order take-out!
This Vietnamese lemongrass chicken is so easy, it’s on regular rotation at my house. I particularly love how the lemongrass and garlic will get nice and caramelized after cooking. I often catch my husband picking those pieces off the tray to get every last bite. We typically eat our lemongrass chicken over brown rice with other vegetables, but it would also be delicious in vermicelli bowls or spring rolls. Lots of tasty possibilities!
Preparing the Chicken Thighs
The key to the recipe is using chicken thighs with skin on and deboned. I have yet to find a store in my area that carries this, so I often debone the chicken myself. It’s pretty easy, and you can save the bones to make chicken stock later. For a step-by-step guide, check out my post on how to debone chicken here. Or if you’re lazy, leave the bones in but it will take a little longer to cook and you’ll have to eat around it later. Your call.
Keeping the skin on the chicken thigh is important here as the fat renders in the Air Fryer and keeps the chicken nice and juicy. It also creates that irresistible crispy skin that makes this chicken so darn good.
Preparing the Lemongrass
My favorite part of this recipe is the fragrant lemongrass. You can find fresh stalks of lemongrass at many stores or frozen and already chopped in Asian markets. Chopping them yourself is easy. You’ll want to strip the outer tough layers and use the bottom yellowish leaves. I like to chop a bunch of lemongrass stalks and freeze it so I always have it handy when I want to make this dish. It can be a little difficult to chop it very fine, so you can use a grater or a food processor if you have one. As for me, I just pass the trusty knife through the lemongrass several times and get it as fine as I can. You can learn more about lemongrass and how to prepare it here.
The Air Fryer
It’s important to cook the lemongrass chicken just enough so the skin is not rubbery but also doesn’t get burned. I have the set it and forget it!
No Air Fryer?
Don’t have an Air Fryer? No worries! Put the chicken skin side up on a sheet pan with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 22 to 25 minutes. Watch and make sure it doesn’t burn.
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Air Fryer Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs, deboned with skin on
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons lemongrass, minced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- Place deboned chicken thighs into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Thoroughly mix ingredients so all pieces of chicken are covered with the marinde. Cover and let mixture sit for at least 30 minutes or in the refridgerator overnight.
- Take chicken out of refridgerator if chilled. Preheat Air Fryer to 360°F. Place chicken in Air Fryer tray, skin side up.
- Cook chicken for 14-18 minutes depending on the Air Fryer. Watch the chicken, you want to make sure the skin is not rubbery but also not burned. It should have a light crisp. When finished, slice the lemongrass chicken and enjoy that juicy goodness.
Notes
- You can find stalks of lemongrass at the store and chop it yourself. Be sure to strip the outer leaves and use the bottom yellow portion of the lemongrass.
- Some stores carry already chopped and frozen lemongrass. You can also chop a bunch and freeze it yourself to use any time.
- If you don’t want to debone chicken, add another 5 minutes to the cooking time.
- If you don’t have an Air Fryer, you can bake it in the oven. Put the chicken skin side up on a sheet pan with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 22 to 25 minutes. Watch and make sure it doesn’t burn.
- There are many ways to serve this: with rice and vegetables, in a vermicelli bowl, wrapped in a spring roll. Many possibilities! If you’d like an accompanying sauce, you can use a Vietnamese fish dipping sauce or Thai sweet chili sauce (my husband’s favorite way to enjoy this chicken).
This looks delicious!!! the pictures are great and the directions are easy to follow! Can’t wait to try it!!
Aww, that’s so nice. Thank you so much for checking out my recipe!
That makes me so happy! Thank you for trying my recipe!
Haha, that is so great. I love lemongrass, too. Working on another lemongrass recipe, stay tuned!