Lemongrass Chicken Bowl

Looking to impress your date with some healthy home cooking? Well look no further! Prep the veggies before they arrive (or wait so you can show off your chopping skills), but save the sizzling skillet moments for when you're chatting over your fondness of cast iron in the kitchen 😉. After this meal, they'll be head over heals with you-r cooking. 

The Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 3 cups jasmine rice, cooked
• 1 bundle fresh mint
• 1 english cucumber
• 2 carrots
• 1 bundle green onions
• 1 bag of bean sprouts
• 1 head iceberg lettuce

For marinade:

• 2 tbsp lemongrass, minced 
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, microplaned
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2-3 thai chilis

For nuoc cham (sauce):

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3 cloves garlic, microplaned
• 1” knob of carrot, grated/microplaned
• 2 tbsp chili garlic

The Steps

1. Mince/microplane 2 tbsp of lemongrass, and 4 cloves of garlic then combine with the fish sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, extra virgin olive oil and brown sugar to make the marinade for the chicken. (Optional: add in a few thai chilis if you want to add some spiciness.)
2. Add the chicken breasts to a ziploc bag, then pour the marinade over. Make sure everything is coated and then store in the fridge for at least a couple hours but ideally overnight.
3. After marinating, preheat the oven to 350°F and start cooking 3 cups of jasmine rice either on the stovetop or in a rice maker. (Rice maker takes 25-30 minutes to finish cooking so everything is timed to finish with that.)
4. Add the chicken to a preheated Stargazer skillet and cook over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes until a crust has developed and the chicken releases easily from the skillet. Flip the chicken and drizzle with a little bit of the marinade, then put it in the oven to finish cooking. Length of time in the oven will vary depending on size of the chicken breasts, but approx 10-15 minutes. Removing once internal temp of 165°F.
5. While the chicken finishes in the oven, prep the other vegetables for the bowl. Thinly slicing the iceberg lettuce and green onions. Cutting the cucumber and carrot into matchsticks, roughly chopping the mint, and blanching the bean sprouts.
6. Make the nuoc cham by combining the water, sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice in a small mason jar. Then, microplane the garlic and carrot directly into it, adding in a couple spoonful's of chili garlic to finish it off. Put the lid on and shake to combine.
7. Once the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the oven and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
8. Assemble the bowl by starting with rice, then arranging all of the fresh vegetables, finishing with the sliced chicken, the mint, about ¼ cup of the nuoc cham and some additional chili garlic if you want to add some extra heat.

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 50 min
Serves: 4