Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Skewers Recipe
These Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Skewers are so scrumptious they might just become your new favourite summer recipe. Fresh lemongrass, with its delicate notes of lemon, ginger and mint paired with the rest of the marinade ingredients and tender grilled chicken breast bites and served with peanut sauce creates a delicious meal.
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Bonus, you’re not heating up the kitchen because you’re grilling these on the BBQ AND these chicken lemongrass skewers can be served cold and added to a variety of dishes (which we will share some) giving you more than a few meals for the week!
This Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Skewers recipe has a delicate citrus flavour, is slightly sweet and savoury, making it an irresistible combination. The chicken skewers are tender, juicy, and packed with flavour.
Fresh Lemongrass
If you’re new to prepping and cooking food with lemongrass, don’t worry it’s actually quite easy to use. It can be a bit stringy like celery which you can see in the photo above in the marinade. Not to worry though it doesn’t taste stringy if that makes sense, it just tastes delicious.
Where can you find fresh lemongrass?
It seems to be widely available now. I have found it at my local grocery stores in the fresh produce sections. If they don’t have fresh lemongrass they usually have tubes of minced lemongrass, also in the produce section which you can also use. If your store doesn’t carry it you can try an Asian market.
Lemongrass chicken itself can be served with a variety of recipes from rice, rice noodles, in a salad, salad rolls and one of my personal favourites in a Bánh Mì (Vietnamese Sandwich). In fact I have all of those recipes here on my site. Check them out below!
Lemongrass Chicken Noodle Bowl Recipe
Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Summer Rolls
All of the above recipes, especially the summer/salad rolls and the Bánh Mì you can serve the lemongrass chicken cold, in fact you’ll want to serve them cold or at room temperature.
Why You Will Love Lemongrass Chicken Skewers
- Easy to make. The lemongrass marinade literally transforms the chicken into flavourful, tender juicy goodness. The marinade is easy to make as you can use a food processor or a good blender by putting all the ingredients in and pressing a button. A minute later bam done. The skewers cooked on the grill generally take less than 20 minutes but this of course depends on the size of your chicken pieces and how hot your grill is.
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- Skewers are easy to transport and eat. Whether you’re having these Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Skewers in your backyard or taking to a gathering, they are easy to transport because well they’re on a stick. Which also makes them easy to eat if you want to enjoy them as is.
- Can be used in a variety of meals. As already shared you can have lemongrass chicken in a variety of meals from summer/salad rolls, Vietnamese sandwich, with rice, with rice noodles, with salad and the list goes on.
- Vietnamese cuisine flavours. If you love Vietnamese food then chances are you love lemongrass chicken. This brings Vietnamese cuisine to your table at home. Paired with either our authentic Vietnamese Peanut Sauce Recipe or our authentic Nước chấm (fish sauce) which is paired often with lemongrass chicken and the crispy spring rolls you can have a variety of different meals with lemongrass chicken. Psst our peanut sauce is my mom’s recipe and it’s one of our most popular recipes on Pinterest, go figure.
- Freezer-friendly. These chicken skewers are also freezer friendly. You’ll want to freeze it without the skewers for obvious reasons in an airtight container or vacuum pack. I would freeze them raw with the marinade.
We love chicken and what’s not to love when you have chicken raised by a Canadian chicken farmer? Chicken is one of the most versatile proteins as you can see by all the chicken recipes we have.
In addition to knowing we’re getting quality chicken that has been raised to high animal care standards we also like to support Canadian family-owned businesses. The majority of Canadian chicken farms are family run and owned. When I see the Canadian Chicken Farmers logo (above) I know that I’m getting that quality, we only buy chicken raised by a Canadian Chicken Farmer.
How do you store leftovers?
You can keep leftover lemongrass chicken skewers in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
Are you ready to find out how to make these lemongrass chicken skewers and peanut sauce? Make sure to that you have all the ingredients for our Vietnamese Peanut Sauce Recipe and you can make it either before or after you’ve prepped your lemongrass chicken skewers.
Peanut Sauce Ingredients
- Vegetable oil
- Garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
- Hoisin sauce
- Creamy peanut butter
- Crushed unsalted toasted peanuts
- Sriracha or Sambal chili sauce
Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Skewers Recipe
These Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Skewers are so scrumptious they might just become your new favourite summer recipe. Fresh lemongrass, with its delicate notes of lemon, ginger and mint paired with the rest of the marinade ingredients and tender grilled chicken breast bites and served with peanut sauce creates a delicious meal.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. boneless and skinless chicken breast
Marinade ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1.5 stalks lemongrass using only the white part which is about 1/3 of the stalk.
- Julienned carrots and cucumber (optional)
- See our peanut sauce recipe for ingredients for the peanut sauce (previously linked and also in the notes below)
Instructions
- If using bamboo skewers soak them in warm water for at least 30 minutes so they don't burn on the grill.
- In a blender or food processor add all off the marinade ingredients (garlic cloves, lime juice, fish sauce, brown
sugar, sesame oil, vegetable oil and lemongrass stalks) and mix for 1 minute until smooth. - Cube your chicken and put it in a large mixing bowl. Pour the marinade onto the chicken and mix well to coat all of the chicken. Cover and put in the fridge for a minimum one hour. You can also use a Ziploc bag.
- Thread cubed chicken onto each skewer leaving a little room at the bottom of the skewer (pointed end)
- When ready to grill the chicken, start your BBQ at a medium heat (around 375ºF)
- Apply a light coat of cooking oil with a silicone brush over the chicken
- Place the skewers on the grill for about 8-10 minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF. Times will vary depending on the size of your chicken and heat of your grill.
- Remove from the grill once cooked and serve with rice, rice noodles, salad etc.. Peanut sauce or Nước chấm
Notes
GO HERE for our Vietnamese Peanut Sauce Recipe
What do you think are you ready to make some lemongrass chicken skewers? They are yummy and as you’ve seen can be used in a variety of meals. If you try them let us know. For other delicious chicken recipes make sure to go to Chicken Farmers of Canada.
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“Easy to transport and eat”? I have to be honest, I would transport these right to my plate! OMG, they’re going to be wonderful! I love lemongrass, what a go-to with chicken!
I am a fan of lemongrass chicken when I go out to eat but have never considered making it myself. I will keep an eye out for lemongrass in the grocery store.