I am rediscovering my Luke Nguyen cookbook: My Vietnam: Stories and Recipes. Among the many recipes I have enjoyed is the lemongrass chicken. I departed from this recipe and served it over a green tea noodle salad (marinated with cilantro, sesame oil, coconut aminos, fish sauce, and rice wine vinegar). I also used habanero chilies and coconut milk (not coconut water). While I did use fresh lemongrass, I think that in the future I’d rather use the cheapskate version of lemongrass in a squeeze tube. The recipe below is not authentic to Luke’s directions. Here is what I did, based on what I had on hand and inspired by Luke:

Marinade for Chicken:                             

• 1 T fish sauce
• 2 t granulated monk fruit
• ½ t salt
• ½ t pepper
• ½ t pepper flakes

Chicken:

• A small 2 ½ lb chicken or 2 small Cornish game hens, parted into similarly sized parts.  I boned out the thighs and breasts and cut them smaller.  Use your judgement. OR, use chicken thighs.

Sautéing:

• 3 T olive oil
• 2 T minced garlic
• ¼ C lemongrass (minced or pureed)
• ¼ C coconut milk
• 1 C sliced red and yellow onion

Garnish:

• 2 green onions sliced thinly on the diagonal (1/4 C)
• ½ habanero, finely sliced

Method:

• Marinate the chicken for 30-60 minutes (fridge).
• When that time is near, saute the lemongrass and garlic in the oil until fragrant (2 min).
• Add the chicken and all the juices.  Sear on high to color for 10 minutes, turn to cook.
• Add coconut milk and onion.
• Cover and cook for 5 min.
• Uncover and cook to reduce liquid for another 5 min.
• Serve over rice or green tea noodle salad.
• Garnish with green onions and habanero.