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This Vietnamese Chicken is tender and juicy, marinated in mixture of incredible flavors like fish sauce, lime, lemongrass and garlic, then roasted until the skin is nice and crispy. Easy to make, this chicken has GOT to make it to your dinner table soon!
This recipe was originally published in August 2017. It has been updated for content and photos.
This Vietnamese Chicken has all those wonderful Southeast Asian flavors we love so much. Like chilies, fish sauce, lime, lemongrass…all the good stuff. These are some of my favorite flavors.
What’s awesome about this marinade is that it can be used on beef, pork, shrimp fish, etc. etc. The flavor is just so incredible – you could even dip some Vietnamese Egg Rolls in it!
What truly make this Vietnamese style baked chicken with crispy skin is the marinade. Vietnamese flavors are fresh, lively ingredients, typically packed with tons of delicious flavor.
Check out this article from Food and Wine on 7 Lessons in Vietnamese Cooking to learn more about Vietnamese cooking.
Why This Recipe Works
- Marinating the chicken overnight allows the flavors to penetrate the chicken;
- Using palm sugar in the marinade gives it a deep caramely flavor;
- Fish sauce and soy sauce add umami, while the lemongrass adds a fresh flavor component;
- Roasting the chicken on high heat helps the skin to crisp, while the inside stays tender and juicy.
Ingredients
The ingredients in this Vietnamese chicken recipe are the most amazing, flavor packed ingredients. Seriously, you want to be keeping all these ingredients in your pantry because they can be used in all types of Vietnamese dishes.
Check out this article on Vietnamese Pantry Staples for more information about the ingredients used in Vietnamese cooking.
The recipe calls for palm sugar, which comes from the sap of the coconut tree. There is minimal processing and chemicals involved with the preparation of palm sugar, and it also has an amazing caramel flavor. You can Buy it HERE (affiliate link), or you can also substitute brown or coconut sugar.
What is Lemongrass?
Lemongrass is a grass that tends to grow in more tropical climates. It has a pungent lemony flavor and is used heavily in Southeast Asian cooking. The stalks are long and typically, only the tender white core inside is used in cooking. However, the stalks can be used for flavoring in soups and stews where they are removed after cooking.
I typically use lemongrass paste instead of fresh lemongrass because it is easier to work with and the flavor is almost the same (affiliate link). Fresh lemongrass can be found in many grocery stores, and should also be available at the Asian market if you choose to use it.
What is Fish Sauce?
Fish sauce is a sauce made from anchovies fermented in salt. While the smell can sometimes be strong, the flavor is out of this world delicious. When added to marinades and sauces, it does not have a fishy flavor as you would expect. It just adds a wonderful savory flavor.
I HIGHLY recommend using Red Boat 40 fish sauce (affiliate link). In my opinion, it is the best tasting fish sauce and is made with just straight anchovies and salt.
Step By Step Instructions
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken, ensuring it is coated thoroughly with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place a baking rack on top. Place the chicken thighs on baking rack and drizzle with the lime juice. Reserve the marinade for later use.
Bake the chicken for 40 minutes, turning once half way through. The skin should be browned and crispy and the internal temperature should be 165F when done.
If the skin is not quite crispy, place it under the broiler for a minute or two until it crisps up (I’ve personally never had to do this).
While the lemongrass chicken is cooking, cook the reserved marinade in the microwave on high for 3-4 minutes (it should be boiling) to kill any bacteria. This is optional, but I love using the extra sauce.
Serve the chicken over rice or rice noodles and drizzle with the reserved marinade (optional).
Variations
- Make it spicy by adding a couple minced Thai chilies to the marinade.
- Use beef, pork, shrimp, fish or tofu instead of chicken – cook time will need to be adjusted for each.
- Add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger to the marinade.
- You can also substitute chicken breasts – just note they won’t be a tender and juicy as thighs.
- Replace the soy sauce with gluten free tamari for as a gluten free option (affiliate link).
Expert Tips
- If the skin is not crisp when done, pop it under the broiler for a couple minutes until desired crispness is reached.
- Be sure to boil the reserved marinade if you are going to use it to kill all the bacteria. You can also reserve a portion of the marinade before putting the chicken in if you prefer.
- Brown sugar or coconut sugar can be substituted for palm sugar if necessary.
- Fresh lemongrass can be used in place of the paste, however, it is more labor intensive to work with. Learn how to prepare lemongrass.
What to Serve With Vietnamese Chicken
- Serve it over white, jasmine or brown rice. You can also serve it with rice noodles or egg noodles, or be totally different and go with Mashed Potatoes, polenta or Crispy Potatoes.
- Serve it with a few slices of fresh lime on the side. Drizzle the lime over the chicken and rice for a pop of fresh flavor.
- Definitely start your meal with these Vietnamese Egg Rolls and Nuoc Cham dipping sauce.
- Try it with these Asian Green Beans from a Wicked Spatula;
- Or this Garlic Bok Choy recipe from the Forked Spoon.
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!
Vietnamese Chicken Recipe (Lemongrass Chicken)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs bone in, skin on (4 thighs)
- Juice of 1/2 lime
Marinade:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
Instructions
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken, ensuring it is coated with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place a baking rack on top.
- Place chicken thighs on baking rack and drizzle with the lime juice.
- Bake chicken for 40 minutes, flipping half way through.
- Skin should be browned and crispy. If it's not, place it under the broiler for a minute or two until it crisps up.
Video
Expert Tips:
- If the skin is not crisp when done, pop it under the broiler for a couple minutes until desired crispness is reached.
- Be sure to boil the reserved marinade if you are going to use it to kill all the bacteria. You can also reserve a portion of the marinade before putting the chicken in if you prefer.
- Brown sugar or coconut sugar can be substituted for palm sugar if necessary.
- Fresh lemongrass can be used in place of the paste, however, it is more labor intensive to work with. Learn how to prepare lemongrass.
Variations:
- Make it spicy by adding a couple minced Thai chilies to the marinade.
- Use beef, pork, shrimp, fish or tofu instead of chicken - cook time will need to be adjusted for each.
- Add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger to the marinade.
- You can also substitute chicken breasts - just note they won't be a tender and juicy as thighs.
- Replace the soy sauce with gluten free tamari for as a gluten free option (affiliate link).
Nutrition
This chicken sounds so flavorful and fresh. And I love that it’s baked so there’s not a lot of active time in making it. I’ll definitely be adding this to our week night menu.
Thanks Claire!