Thai spiced chicken with blistered cabbage and cucumber avocado salad. The low carb, flavor packed, fresh, and satisfying meal that you’re looking for, and did I mention this is a 30 minute meal? Feel free to skewer for a fun take, or sear the chicken thighs whole to save time.
This recipe uses a shortcut to get all the aromatic flavors like ginger, garlic, and lemongrass without any of the work – the secret ingredient that has it all is the red curry paste. Check out my other Lemongrass Chicken recipe for another take, just note this recipe requires a food processor.
FAQ – For the Lemongrass Thai Chicken:
Q: Where is the lemongrass?
A: Lemongrass isn’t the easiest thing to work with – it’s oddly shaped and in my opinion, quite a nuisance to chop. I’ll do it when I really want a strong lemongrass flavor, but I’ve found that Thai curry paste does a great job bringing a lemongrass and Thai aromatic flavor to the dish (most Thai curries have lemongrass in them).
Q: Do I need to skewer the chicken? What chicken works best for this?
A: Absolutely not! If you don’t want to take the time to skewer the chicken, feel free to just sear the cubes of chicken and serve this alongside with the blistered cabbage. I am using boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you can also use chicken breast or chicken tenders for this recipe. The cook time should be about the same.
Q: How long does this store as leftovers?
A: The chicken will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you want to do some prep work ahead of time, you can marinate the chicken and keep this uncooked in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Q: What if I don’t have or don’t like fish sauce?
A: You can substitute the fish sauce with just an additional 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt.
Q: What should I serve with the lemongrass Thai chicken?
A: In this recipe, I’m serving the lemongrass Thai chicken with blistered Savoy cabbage and a cucumber avocado salad. Some other great options to serve this with are coconut rice, sticky rice, charred broccolini, steamed bokchoy, or garlic noodles.
FAQ – For the Blistered Cabbage and Cucumber Avocado Salad
Q: What is Savoy cabbage and what if I can’t find it?
A: Savoy cabbage is a variety of cabbage that is a bit more tender to the palate and crinkly in appearance. I learned about Savoy cabbage in cooking school, and it’s one of my favorite types of cabbage now. I find the texture and appearance to be beautiful and a bit more elevated than normal green or Napa cabbage. However if you can’t find Savoy cabbage, feel free to just use regular green or Napa cabbage.
Q: Are there any tricks for cooking cabbage? Why does it sometimes get mushy?
A: The trick with blistered cabbage is to not overcrowd the pan. You want to use high heat and to add a single even layer of cabbage to the pan. If you have a large amount of cabbage, you’ll want to blister this in at least 3-4 batches. However, each batch should be pretty quick (2-3 minutes) if you’re using at least 1 teaspoon of oil and cooking on high heat. Mushy cabbage comes from adding too much cabbage to the pan, which causes it to steam instead of brown.
Q: How long will the blistered cabbage and cucumber avocado salad keep stored as leftovers?
A: The blistered cabbage will hold and reheat well for up to 3 days. However, I’d recommend eating the cucumber avocado salad the same day.
Serves 4
VIDEO TUTORIAL:
Easy Lemongrass Thai Chicken with Blistered Cabbage and Cucumber Avocado Salad
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Thai spiced chicken with blistered cabbage and cucumber avocado salad. The low carb, flavor packed, fresh, and satisfying meal that you’re looking for, and did I mention this is a 30 minute meal? Feel free to skewer for a fun take, or sear the chicken thighs whole to save time.
Ingredients
For the Lemongrass Thai Chicken
- 1.5 lbs chicken thighs (cut into 1” cubes if you are skewering)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- .5 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- neutral oil
- 1/2 head savoy cabbage, cut into 1” pieces
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- kosher salt for the cabbage
For the Cucumber Avocado Salad
- 4 persian cucumbers
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables – remove the tough core then chop the savoy cabbage into 1” wide pieces. Give this a rinse then let it dry as much as possible (oil + water = splatter).
- Next, cut the cucumbers into half moons and dice the avocado. Add both of these to a bowl and toss with a pinch of kosher salt, tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice, and freshly ground black pepper. Set this aside until you’re ready to eat.
- Next, marinate the chicken. If you’re skewering, cut the chicken into 1” pieces. To a mixing bowl or cambro container, add the chicken, red curry paste, kosher salt, brown sugar, fish sauce, garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon of neutral oil. Give everything a mix.
- Skewer if you desire, or option to cook the chicken thighs whole.
- Preheat a cast iron pan or air fryer (whichever method you prefer to cook chicken). Sear the chicken on medium high heat for 8-10 minutes, flipping occasionally to prevent burning.
- Next, using a separate pan to make this entire dinner very fast, blister the savoy cabbage. Heat a pan on medium high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add ½ the cabbage and spread out as evenly as possible. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until you see that nice blistered color on the leaves. Add ½ the scallions, a pinch of kosher salt and give everything a toss. Plate, then repeat with the remaining cabbage.
- Top the cabbage with a few skewers of chicken and serve alongside the cucumber avocado salad, and enjoy!
Notes
For vegetarians, you can substitute the chicken for tofu or portobello mushrooms.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minute
- Category: Easy
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
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