Thai Lemongrass Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk
Try this Thai Lemongrass Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk recipe
Try this Thai Lemongrass Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk recipe
- salt + pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 3 pounds bone in skin on chicken thighs (or breasts)
- 1 small sweet onion finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger grated
- 1-2 red fresno chiles or jalapenos seeds removed + chopped (i use 2, but use 1 for less spice)
- 1-2 lemongrass stalk sliced
- 3-3 1/2 cups canned coconut milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 baby bok choy halved
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped + more for serving
- juice of 1 lime
- steamed black or white rice for serving
- rice noodles for serving
- Carbohydrate 23.2425007042254 g
- Cholesterol 285.7638 mg
- Fat 75.9027575704225 g
- Fiber 1.7184753370285 g
- Protein 62.1308772042253 g
- Saturated Fat 25.8106352 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (716g)
- Sodium 313.8307 mg
- Sugar 21.5240253671968 g
- Trans Fat 5.10950797042254 g
- Calories 1039 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat a large dutch oven or oven safe pot over medium high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Season the chicken with salt + pepper. Once hot, add the chicken and sear on both sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pot and place on a plate.
- To the same pot, add another drizzle of oil. Add the onion and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, fresno peppers and lemon grass. Season with salt + pepper. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Add the chicken back to the pot. Pour in the coconut milk (starting with 3 cups and fish sauce. Add the cinnamon sick and position the bok choy around the chicken. Sprinkle over the cilantro.
- Place the pot in the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. If the coconut milk sauce starts getting too thick towards the end of cooking, add in the remain 1/2 cup of coconut milk. Check the chicken 1-2 times throughout cooking, spooning the sauce over the chick to help keep it moist.
- Remove from the oven. Drizzle the lime juice over the chicken. Divide the chicken among bowls or plate and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Top with fresh cilantro and green onions. Serve with black rice and or rice noodles. EAT!
Substituting boneless skinless chicken breasts for the specified bone-in, skin-ins thighs alters the cooking physics entirely, stripping away the rendered fat and collagen necessary to enrich the coconut sauce during a 375 degree F oven braise. Bone-in cuts release gelatin into the surrounding liquid, altering its viscosity and preventing the high fat content of the coconut milk from breaking prematurely under dry oven heat. Searing the poultry for precisely three minutes per side creates initial Maillard compounds without overcooking the exterior before it enters the Dutch oven. Sweating the allium base including the minced ginger and fibrous lemongrass stalks for five minutes softens their cellular walls, allowing aromatic essential oils to diffuse effectively into the surrounding lipids before the braising liquid is added. Keeping the heavy pot covered during the forty-five to fifty-five minute baking window traps steam, ensuring the meat reaches a tender internal state while baby bok choy halves steam gently at the surface. Leftovers maintain quality when refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days, though the coconut emulsion may require gentle reheating on the stovetop with a splash of water to restore its original smooth consistency.
