Lemongrass Chicken Skewers – Oua Si Khai {GF, DF}

A delicious Lao recipe that makes a great use of lemongrass. A stalk of lemongrass is stuffed with a ground chicken herb filling and then deep fried. An exotic and interesting appetizer. Think lemongrass chicken skewers. Gluten Free and Dairy Free too. 

What are your thoughts on lemongrass? Love it, hate it? Never even heard of it?  I for one, love it.

For those of you not familiar with it it is a long stemmed herb, hailing from India and tropical Asia and used in teas, soups, curries, stir fries, you name it. With a citrusy flavor, there’s really nothing quite like it.

And luckily for me it is added to so many different South East Asian dishes in so many different ways.

The other day at a cooking class in Laos, at the Tamarind Cooking School, I saw a whole new way of using lemongrass. Using it as a base for the chicken stuffing. Think lemongrass chicken skewers where the skewer is the lemongrass stalk itself.

Fascinating.

How does this work you ask? Well, essentially you make many long cuts into the lemongrass stalk, going right through it but not making the cut all the way down to the end. So you start with one side and make a 4 inch long cut, turn the lemongrass 90 degrees and make another cut, and continue to make numerous cuts all the way around. Then you squeeze the two ends of the lemongrass towards eachother, which forms a lantern basket from the cuts that you’ve made. This is where the minced chicken stuffing goes. And now your lemongrass chicken skewers are reading to be cooked in oill.

Brilliant if you ask me.

Then off to the deep fryer this goes.

The final result? An exotic and gorgeous looking meal. You remove the stuffing from around the lemongrass and dip it into a peanut based sauce. The Lao have their own peanut dip but don’t worry the Thai version can be used as well. Truly a stand out meal that has an incredible presentation as well. Lemongrass chicken skewers for the win!

Perfect to serve to your dinner guests who will without a doubt be impressed by this exotic and intricate dish. I think this would work equally as well on the grill too!

Do you have any other creative uses for lemongrass? Do share.

On another note today is my dad’s birthday! So happy happy birthday to the best dad ever!

5 from 1 vote

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Lemongrass Chicken Skewers

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

A delicious Lao recipe that makes a great use of lemongrass. A stalk of lemongrass is stuffed with a ground chicken herb filling and then deep fried. An exotic and interesting appetizer. Think lemongrass chicken skewers 

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Lao

Servings: 1

Calories: 178 kcal

Author: Vicky Berman

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 4-5 green onions roughly chopped
• small bunch of cilantro chopped
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup ground chicken beef, pork,
• 2 stalks lemongrass outside leaves removed
• 1 egg lightly beaten with dash of salt
• 1-2 cups oil for frying

Instructions

1. In a mortar pound garlic, green onions, cilantro, kaffir lime leaves and salt. When a paste forms add the ground chicken and continue to pound until combined.
2. Using a sharp knife and starting 1/2 inch from the base of the lemongrass make a cut right though the stalk for 2-3 inches. Rotate the lemongrass 90 degrees and repeat. Continue to make cuts all around the lemongrass stalk.
3. Use your thumbs to open the cage and make a basket shape out of the lemongrass. Insert a spoonful of filling at a time, making sure that it is inside the lemongrass basket, until half the filling is in one lemongrass stalk. Repeat with the other lemongrass stalk.
4. Dip stuffed lemongrass in beaten egg.
5. Heat oil over medium high heat and fry lemongrass until filling is cooked through.
6. Drain on paper towels and serve with peanut sauce.

Recipe from Tamarind Cooking School