Coconut & Lemongrass Braised Chicken (Vietnamese Inspired)

I’ve sort of made it my personal quest to supply you guys with as many easy (yet delicious) dinners as I can here in this little space. I honestly find recipes that check those boxes (easy, low maintenance, dinner) are what I’m personally always seeking, so I like to share them when I get them. And this recipe today – this Coconut & Lemongrass Braised Chicken with Rice – man is it a good one. I’d say “winner winner chicken dinner,” but we’re above that, right?

Hmmm … I guess not. Read on for a little more about this chicken recipe, or you can just jump ahead to the recipe itself.

One Pan. Big Flavors. Easy Does it.

But anyway, let me just tell you, the siren song of sweet coconut milk, succulent chicken, garlic, ginger, and lemongrass is as alluring as they come. My entire house was just completely swept up in the gorgeous aromas of this coconut and lemongrass braised chicken as it all simmered and sputtered away in the oven.

Someone actually came to my front door to drop off a package and they commented, with great enthusiasm I might add, that they wanted to come over for dinner as they hadn’t smelled something that enticing in a long while. So, there you go.

What does Lemongrass taste like?

Lemongrass, as the name would suggest has a distinctly citrusy, grassy flavor to it (it’s actually in the grass family) with a slight hint of mint. It’s beautiful, all the way through. You see it used a lot in Southeast Asian, Indonesian and Malaysian cooking as a flavor base for curries, soups. stews, and marinades. You’ll see it used an an infusion in teas and stocks (doesn’t this sound heavenly), and it’s even used in desserts such as cakes, custards, and ice creams. I actually used it in in a dessert in my cookbook – my Creamy Lemongrass and Vanilla Granita (it’s SO good)

Cymbopogon, also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family.

Wikipedia

How to work with lemongrass

You can use lemongrass stalks in this recipe, simply “crushing” or cracking them open a little bit with the back of your knife blade. Doing this releases their interior juices and flesh, allowing it to infuse into whatever dish you’re making. Or, you can actually purchase pre-made lemongrass paste now, which is pretty readily available in the produce sections of most grocery stores (in a tube).

Bottom line here? Don’t go gnawing on stalks of fresh lemongrass because that’s not the way, y’all. It’s not a carrot – the flavor needs to be coaxed out of it.

How to Make Perfect Braised Chicken

So, if braising isn’t a cooking method with which you are familiar, I’m so happy to introduce you today! Essentially, braising is a method of cooking that is fabulous for its ability to transform tougher cuts of meat into juicy, moist, succulent ones. It’s simple brilliance, basically. To accomplish a good braise, you just bake/simmer your meat (in this recipe today, chicken drumsticks), in a liquid of some sort (i.e. coconut milk).

You’re looking to maintain a slow and low heat here – the opposite of say, broiling or char-grilling. Braising chicken can be as fast and easy as throwing all of your ingredients in a dish together, sending it into the preheated oven and then just being patient while the heat works its magic.

The Magic of Coconut Milk

Speaking of magic …

You’ll probably see chicken stock used most frequently as a braising liquid, but really you can braise in almost any liquid you like. My absolute favorite, however, is sweet and creamy coconut milk. Admittedly, I find ways to sneak coconut milk into many of my recipes, because I truly love it. Roasting or braising chicken in cow’s milk is actually a classic French preparation, and one that you will also see in Italian cooking as well. Here, we’re giving it a decidedly Southeast Asian spin.

In my cookbook, I share a recipe for a whole roasted chicken in milk with cardamom and orange, and it’s a total dream dinner. Hey look! There’s my book! Funniest thing …

Just be sure to taste the braising liquid before sending the pan into the oven, to make sure it’s seasoned well. The last thing you want is to get to the end of your cooking only to find that it’s “almost” delicious. Because truth be told, as wonderful as the coconut milk and all of those flavorful aromatics are, they need some salt to unlock their true potential.

Okay I’m starting to sound like a life coach now. Or Yoda.

Good-to-Knows for your Coconut & Lemongrass Braised Chicken

1. If your chicken doesn’t look brown and crispy like it does in these photos, just let it keep cooking until you get there. Don’t worry – it won’t dry out. One of the joys of cooking with dark meat on the bone is that it just won’t dry out on you. You have lots of flexibility and wiggle room there, so far as cook time goes, and this is honestly one of the reasons why you’ll see a lot more dark meat on this blog than white. It’s just better, what can I say?
2. You can use other bone-in, dark meat cuts of chicken if you like. Whatever works!
3. Want to add even more flavor to the braising liquid? Soy sauce, a splash of fish sauce, and a sprinkle of sugar (yep) would all be really nice add-ins, if you happen to have them or want to really ramp up the flavors.
4. Please feel free to sub in red curry paste for the green as well. They’re both delicious here.

What You’ll Need

There really are only like, 6 ingredients to this – not counting the rice you serve it on. It’s so so simple, and every single ingredient counts. They all need to be here, each taking his or her rightful place in this small but mighty lineup.

INGREDIENTS

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust your rack to the middle position
2. In a large baking dish or roasting pan, whisk/stir together the coconut milk with the curry paste until smooth and combined. Add the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and chicken. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the chicken and season with salt and pepper (keeping in mind that curry paste can be a little salty).
3. Place the dish in the oven and cook until the chicken gets deeply browned and crispy on top; about 60 to 75 minutes. A couple of times during the cooking process, baste the chicken with more of that liquid. This will help the color/flavor develop nicely. 
4. Serve with fluffy rice, with the braising liquid as the sauce, garnished with chopped cilantro, toasted unsweetened coconut, and fresh lime. 

How to make this amazing Coconut and Lemongrass Braised Chicken

What I love about this recipe is the fact that is just couldn’t be much simpler if it tried. You honestly just throw the ingredients in a baking dish and let the oven do all of the work. You will end up with the most juicy, succulent chicken that just soaks up the incredibly flavorful, aromatic sauce – it’s a true dream dinner if ever there was one.

The method is fast, fuss-free, and straightforward. Here’s what you do …

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust your rack to the middle position
2. In a large baking dish or roasting pan, whisk/stir together the coconut milk with the curry paste until smooth and combined. Add the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and chicken. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the chicken and season with salt and pepper (keeping in mind that curry paste can be a little salty).
3. Place the dish in the oven and cook until the chicken gets deeply browned and crispy on top; about 60 to 75 minutes. A couple of times during the cooking process, baste the chicken with more of that liquid. This will help the color/flavor develop nicely. 
4. Serve with fluffy rice, with the braising liquid as the sauce, garnished with chopped cilantro, toasted unsweetened coconut, and fresh lime. 

If you like the looks of this Coconut and Lemongrass Braised Chicken, you might also enjoy:

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

Thai Style Peanut Curry Chicken and Noodles

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