Battered chicken in a golden curry-style sauce with green pepper, carrot and onion strips beside a dome of white rice on a white plate. — Photo: Andy Li · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Vietnamese · Lunch · Dinner

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chili Chicken

Name: Vietnamese Lemongrass Chili Chicken
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1 cup brown jasmine rice; 2 cups water (for rice); 600 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat; 4 stalks lemongrass stalks, tender inner part finely minced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced; 3 chilies red chilies (bird's eye and/or long red), sliced; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp brown sugar; 1/2 tsp ground turmeric; 1/2 tsp ground black pepper; 1 tbsp neutral oil (canola); 1 medium onion, cut into wedges; 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced; 1/4 cup water (for sauce); 2 stalks spring onions, cut into 3 cm lengths; 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Gà xào sả ớt

By BerryFit Kitchen · Nutrition checked with USDA data · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · How we make recipes

Tender pieces of chicken stir-fried with fragrant lemongrass, garlic and fiery red chili, glazed in a savoury-sweet fish sauce coating. This lighter version adds crisp onion and red pepper and serves it all over nutty brown jasmine rice.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 60 min
Serves: 4

Easy
Dairy Free
High protein

23%

Per serving456kcal23% of a 2,000 kcal day

36gProtein

52gCarbs

12gFat

4gFiber

Calories come from: Carbs 46% · Fat 23% · Protein 31%

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Ingredients

For 4 servings

1 cup190 gbrown jasmine rice
2 cups475 gwater (for rice)
600 gboneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat
4 stalks80 glemongrass stalks, tender inner part finely minced
4 cloves12 ggarlic, minced
2 medium60 gshallots, thinly sliced
3 chilies19 gred chilies (bird's eye and/or long red), sliced
2 tbsp36 gfish sauce
1 tspbrown sugar
1/2 tspground turmeric
1/2 tspground black pepper
1 tbsp14 gneutral oil (canola)
1 medium110 gonion, cut into wedges
1 medium150 gred bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup60 gwater (for sauce)
2 stalks30 gspring onions, cut into 3 cm lengths
1/4 cup10 gfresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Steps

1
Rinse the brown rice, then combine it with the rice water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2
Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30-35 minutes until the water is absorbed, then rest off the heat with the lid on.
3
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
4
Mix the chicken with half the lemongrass, half the garlic, the fish sauce, brown sugar, turmeric and black pepper.
5
Leave the chicken to marinate for 15 minutes while you slice the vegetables.
6
Heat the oil in a large wok or nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
7
Fry the shallots with the remaining lemongrass and garlic for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden.
8
Add the chicken in a single layer and sear for 2 minutes without stirring.
9
Stir-fry the chicken for 4-5 more minutes until browned.
10
Add the onion, red pepper and chilies and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
11
Pour in the sauce water and toss until the chicken is glazed and cooked through to 74 °C / 165 °F, about 2 more minutes.
12
Stir in the spring onions and cook for 30 seconds.
13
Fluff the rice and serve the chicken over it, topped with cilantro if using.

Swaps, storage and make-ahead

Swaps

Use chicken breast instead of thighs for a leaner cut, cutting a minute or two off the stir-fry time so it stays juicy.
Swap the brown jasmine rice for white jasmine rice, reducing the water to about 1 1/2 cups and the simmer to 15 minutes.
To make it gluten-free, choose a fish sauce labelled gluten-free, since every other ingredient is naturally gluten-free.
If fresh lemongrass is hard to find, use 3 to 4 tbsp of jarred or frozen minced lemongrass.

Storage

Refrigerate the chicken and rice in separate airtight containers within 2 hours. Eat the chicken within 3 to 4 days, but eat the rice within 1 day and reheat it only once. Reheat everything until steaming hot. Cool the rice quickly, and note the peppers soften on reheating, so the dish is at its best fresh.

Make ahead

Mince the lemongrass and garlic and slice the shallots, onion, pepper and chilies up to a day ahead and keep them covered in the fridge. You can also cook the rice a day ahead, cooling and refrigerating it promptly, then reheat it until steaming hot.

Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.

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Allergens and nutrition

Contains: Fish

Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.

Full nutrition

	Per serving (461 g)	Per 100 g
Calories	456 kcal	99 kcal
Protein	35.5 g	7.7 g
Carbohydrates	52.3 g	11.3 g
of which sugars	6 g	1.3 g
Fiber	3.9 g	0.8 g
Fat	11.5 g	2.5 g
of which saturated	2.3 g	0.5 g
Sodium	865 mg	188 mg

Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.