Yield:Yields 2/3 cup sauce.

Servings:four.

A last-minute basting of a lemongrass and cilantro paste gives this dish a wonderful aroma. The tangy ginger-lime dipping sauce is also great with other roasted or grilled meats and with steamed fish.

Ingredients

For the chicken:

1/2 cup finely chopped lemongrass (3 or 4 stalks)
2 Tbs. finely chopped shallots
1 Tbs. finely chopped garlic
4-1/2 tsp. fish sauce
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. crushed red pepper flakes
1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 whole chicken (3 to 4 lb.), rinsed and patted dry
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbs. vegetable oil

For the ginger-lime dipping sauce:

2 cloves garlic
2 Thai bird chiles or other hot fresh chiles, cored and seeded
1 tsp. chile paste
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice, with pulp
1/4 cup water
4 Tbs. granulated sugar

Nutritional Sample Size using 3-lb. chicken
Calories (kcal) : 460
Fat Calories (kcal): 230
Fat (g): 26
Saturated Fat (g): 6
Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 6
Monounsaturated Fat (g): 11
Cholesterol (mg): 145
Sodium (mg): 1650
Carbohydrates (g): 10
Fiber (g): 1
Protein (g): 46

Preparation

Prepare the chicken:

In a nonreactive dish large enough to hold the chicken, combine all but 2 Tbs. of the lemongrass with all of the shallots, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, salt, and sugar. Add the chicken and turn it to coat, tucking some of the marinade underneath its skin. Pour any excess marinade into the bird’s cavity. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking it.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Put the chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan. Cook for 40 minutes. Turn the bird over and roast until the chicken is cooked and nicely browned, 20 to 30 minutes. The sugar in the marinade may cause the pan juices to burn, but this won’t affect the chicken’s flavor.

Make the dipping sauce:

With a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, chiles, chile paste, and ginger to a paste. Transfer the paste to a small bowl and add the fish sauce, lime juice, water, and sugar. Mix until well blended. Allow the sauce to sit for at least 10 minutes to let the flavors develop.

Finish the dish:

About 10 minutes before the chicken is done, combine the remaining 2 Tbs. lemongrass with the cilantro and vegetable oil. Using a spoon, rub the mixture on the bird, spreading it evenly; continue roasting. The chicken is done when its juices run clear. Let the chicken sit for 10 minutes out of the oven before carving. Serve with ginger-lime dipping sauce.

Fruity-floral Rieslings and Gewürztraminers are ideal. Try Kabinett-level Rieslings from Gunderloch and Zilliken. Or try these varietals: from California, Edmeades’ Mendocino Gewürztraminer or Bonny Doon’s Pacific Rim Riesling; or from the Pacific Northwest, Amity Gewürztraminer of Oregon or Hogue Riesling from Washington.

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Reviews (5 reviews)

user-561648| 04/11/2018

Both my husband and I enjoy Vietnamese cuisine and so I usually have all the ingredients for dishes such as this on hand. Did pick up some lemongrass at our huge local Asian market yesterday, and prepared this with a 3.5 lb Bell & Evans air-chilled chicken which I butterflied. It took only one large stalk of the lemongrass to yield 1.2 cup of finely minced. Marinated about 4 hours, let it sit outside the fridge for an hour, and then roasted in 12" cast iron skillet for 45 minutes at 400º. The final coating with the lemongrass/cilantro mix was perfect, and the pan juices also kept everything moist and bursting with flavor. What really put this over the top, though, was the dipping sauce. Don't omit. It's outstanding, and you'll have plenty left over for other Vietnamese dishes.
ATXCook| 02/26/2018

I just made this tonight and it's incredibly delicious! It was super flavorful and moist! Here's how I made it a little faster than the recipe. I got the chicken in the marinade in the morning and roasted it 9 hours later. I just put it all in a large ziploc bag and turned the bag every hour to get the entire chicken well marinated. I spatchcocked the chicken to cook it faster and let all the skin get a chance to brown. Then, I roasted it directly in a cast iron pan for 30 minutes at 375F, and then cranked up the heat to 400F for another 15 minutes. I basted the chicken with it's own rendered fat every 10-15 minutes. Once the chicken came out, I gave it one last basting. Make sure to spoon up some of the browned bits in the pan or run your cut chicken pieces through it. There's huge flavor there! With the sauce, I doubled the lime juice since I prefer a more tart dipping sauce.