Grilled Lemongrass Chicken (with Lemongrass-Sweet Chili Sauce)

If you're a grilled chicken fan, try this Thai Lemongrass Grilled Chicken recipe! The chicken is infused with a lemongrass-garlic-ginger marinade, then easily grilled to perfection. Serve it with my Lemongrass-Sweet Chili Sauce on the side - it marries wonderfully with the chicken and plain steamed rice. Makes for a wonderful everyday dinner, or double the recipe and grill it up for your next barbecue/cookout with friends. ENJOY!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: SERVES 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1.3 lb chicken drumlets, wings, thighs or breast meat cut into workable pieces
• MARINADE:
• 3 Tbsp. finely-minced lemongrass (fresh or frozen-prepared), available at Asian food stores
• 3 Tbsp. sherry (OR cooking sherry)
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce (available in tall bottles at Asian food stores)
• 1 thumb-size piece ginger, galangal, OR Thai ginger, grated
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 fresh red chili, minced OR 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili
• 1/2 Tbsp. coursely-ground black pepper
• 2+1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• LEMONGRASS-SWEET CHILI SAUCE:
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 Tbsp. finely-minced lemongrass (fresh or frozen-prepared)
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 to 1 Tbsp. dried crushed chili (1 Tbsp. makes very spicy sauce)
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. sherry (OR cooking sherry)
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3-4 Tbsp. cool water

Preparation:

1. If you have a pestle & mortar, use it to "bash" the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and chili together into a paste, then stir in the other ingredients. A mini-food chopper can be used instead, or simply mince all ingredients very well by hand and combine in a small bowl. Pour marinade over the chicken, stirring well to coat the meat. Cover and set in the refrigerator to marinate at least 30 minutes, OR up to 24 hours.
2. While chicken is marinating, make your accompanying lemongrass-sweet chili sauce. Place all sauce ingredients except cornstarch-water mixture in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. When sauce comes to a rolling boil and begins to foam up, reduce heat to medium. Continue boiling over medium heat 10 minutes, or until vinegar has burned off and sauce is reduced by 1/3 to 1/2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the cornstarch mixture, stirring well to incorporate. Sauce will gradually thicken in 1-2 minutes. If you'd like it thicker, add more cornstarch-water in the same way.
3. Remove from heat and taste-test. The sauce should taste sweet first, followed by sour and then spicy tones. Adjust this balance by adding more sugar for a sweeter sauce, or a little more vinegar OR lemon/lime juice if too sweet. Add more chili if you'd like it spicier. Pour sauce into a bowl for serving and set aside until later (this sauce is usually served at room temperature).
4. Brush your grill with a little cooking oil, then grill the chicken. Baste with leftover marinade from the bottom of the bowl the first time you turn it. Grill until well done (inner flesh will turn opaque and juices run clear).
5. Serve chicken hot from the grill with the lemongrass-sweet chili sauce on the side, plus plenty of steamed rice. ENJOY!