Lemongrass Chicken Thai Food

Street cooking in Thailand is kept simple, with a minimal list of ingredients, and yet the food tastes so exquisite. You'll find the same to be true with this easy recipe for Thai lemongrass chicken. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the ingredients - when they're put together what results is sooo delicious. This recipe is derived from my adventures talking to street cooks in Thailand and watching what they do - the only difference here is that the chicken is baked instead of grilled or stir-fried. I love to make this dish with quarter chicken pieces, but thighs and even plain old chicken breast (skin left on) works well. Note that Carnation evaporated milk is a common street ingredient in Thailand and is often used for curries. Although you can also use coconut milk, I have found the evaporated version far superior in this case. Wonderful with rice or even potatoes if you don't mind a little Easy-meets-West on your table. ENJOY!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 4 Quarter-Chicken Servings

Ingredients:

• 4 quarter-chicken pieces, OR equivalent of thighs/breast
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 1/4 cup purple onion, finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 fresh red chili, minced, OR up to 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 can Carnation milk

Preparation:

1. Thinly slice the lemongrass and then chop it up as finely as you can (alternatively you can use a food processor or chopper for the mincing part). Do the same with the purple onion and mix both in a bowl to create the marinade.
2. Add the chili and sauces and stir again. Finally, add the Carnation milk and sugar. Stir everything together until sugar is dissolved.
3. Place chicken pieces in a flat baking pan. Pour the lemongrass concoction over, turning chicken to saturate. Turn pieces skin-side down and set in refrigerator to marinate at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Turn chicken pieces skin-side up and spoon a little more of the marinade from the pan over the surface of each piece. Set baking pan in the middle of your oven and bake 60-75 minutes, until chicken is golden-brown on the surface.
5. Accompany with plenty of Thai jasmine rice on the side and ENJOY!