Baked Lemongrass Chicken

I currently have roommates. I love them to death, they are patient, kind and all around very considerate. Me, however, I like to cook. It gets in their way, and I have taken the measurements of taking out the batteries from the fire alarm just because when I use the wok, I fucking use the wok. Recently, I found some chicken on sale, and wanted something different from my regular oregano, thyme, parsley trifecta of a marinade I always lean on. I wanted something savory, but did not want to compromise the smell of the house because we just came back from the semi annual candle sale. So here, is a way to get my Lemongrass Chicken, but baked! You can still fry with this recipe, and honestly, the grill would be nice too!

Any skin on, bone in chicken will suffice!

Ingredients

Refrigerated:

10-15 wings (or chicken cut of your choice)
4 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of green onion
1 lemongrass stalk
1 tbsp of ground ginger

Baking and Spices:

1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon 1 tablespoon of black pepper 1 tablespoon of ground white pepper ½ cup of white or brown sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Oils and Vinegars

1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of hoisin/oyster sauce
5 tablespoons of canola oil

Directions:

1. Take out your chicken and leave it in a large bowl to marinate

2. In a separate bowl, add your 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 1tbs of fish sauce, 1 tbsp of hoisin or oyster sauce, 5 tbsp of canola oil, and stir.

3. After, add your 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1 tbsp of chicken bouillon, 1 tbsp of black pepper, 1 tbsp of ground white pepper, ½ cup of white or brown sugar, and stir again

4. Cut your lemongrass stalk into pieces, along with your green onion stalk, 1 tablespoon of ground ginger, and your crushed 4 cloves of garlic, then add to your mixture

5. Stir to combine, the pour over chicken

6. Take your hands and massage your marinade, then cover and let it marinate for at least 2 hours

7. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

8. Lay out your chicken, and reserve liquid

9. Cook for 40 minutes, then take out of the oven, then raise the heat to 415 degrees.

10. Drain the liquid from your baked chicken and add in a pot, add your reserved marinade and cook until bubbling on medium high heat.

11. Take ½ cup of cold water and stir in your 1 tablespoon of cornstarch

12. Take your pot off of heat and stir in cornstarch mixture until thick

13. Add your new sauce and toss your chicken, then lay it out neatly again.

14. Bake your chicken at 415 degrees for 10 minutes

15. Take out immediately, add sesame seeds, extra green onion if you’d like, and eat with rice or some yummy bokchoy!

It can be done in bulk for some easy meal prep!

Tips:

• Buying lemongrass from a store will usually merit you about 3 stalks a bundle. Cut the lower bottom half of your lemongrass (the white part) and dispose accordingly, cut the top part of your lemon grass (the dry green part) and dispose accordingly as well. 

• Cut your lemongrass vertically (dissecting it), and you will find multiple layers.

• Find the tender layers and dice

• Taking out your chicken about 10 minutes before cooking will help it bring it to a warmer temperature

• The sugar in this recipe is necessary to caramelize, and the cornstarch to thicken.