Chicken with Lemongrass Sauce
Pad Gai Da Krai
Chicken simmered slowly in a fine-ground lemongrass and kaffir lime herb paste
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Serves
- 4
- Heat
- medium
This dish isn't something you'd typically find at a street food stall, since it depends on a slow, deliberate process of grinding lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf into a fine, fragrant paste rather than the quick-chopped aromatics used in faster stir-fries. That paste, worked with garlic and shallot, becomes the base the chicken cooks in low and slow, picking up flecks of green and yellow as the sauce builds. A splash of water loosens everything into a rich, clinging sauce, finished with sliced chili added just long enough to warm through while staying crisp.
Ingredients
- 533 g Chicken breast, boneless and skinless (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 7 stalks Lemongrass (finely ground into a pulp)
- 30 Kaffir lime leaves (center stems removed, finely ground)
- 1/3 cup Red shallots (finely chopped)
- 7 Garlic, large cloves (finely chopped)
- 3 Thai long chilies (sliced diagonally)
- 3 sprigs Coriander/cilantro leaves (for garnish)
- 3 Kaffir lime leaves (sliced into thin slivers, for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
- 1 1/3 tablespoons Fish sauce
- 2 3/4 teaspoons Sugar
- 1 1/3 tablespoons Vegetable oil
Directions
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Grind the lemongrass and the larger portion of kaffir lime leaves as finely as possible, along with the shallots and garlic, working everything together in a mortar and pestle (or food processor) into a fine green paste. Slice the chili and slice the garnish kaffir lime leaves into thin slivers.
- Heat the oil in a wok over low heat. Add the herb paste and stir together. Once it starts sizzling, cook gently for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly — keep the heat low so the flavors don't scorch.
- Add the chicken and stir until well coated in the paste. Fry slowly, without rushing, for about 5 minutes until nearly cooked through.
- Add a splash of water to loosen the mixture into a rich sauce. Stir well and let it heat back up. Stir in the oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar.
- Add the sliced chili and toss everything from the bottom of the pan so it's evenly coated. Cook for about a minute more, until hot throughout — don't overcook the chili, it should stay a little crisp.
- Serve on a shared plate, garnished with the slivered kaffir lime leaf and fresh cilantro.
Notes
Keep the heat low while cooking the ground herb paste — lemongrass and kaffir lime lose their bright flavor quickly if scorched, even briefly.
Substitutions
Lean pork can be used in place of chicken breast with no other changes to the method.