Crispy air-fried lemongrass chicken served with marinated tomatoes. Aromatic Asian inspired lemongrass chicken breasts are air-fried until golden and crispy served over parmesan herbed rice and marinated cherry tomatoes. This dish is simple, quick and light and fresh for a summer inspired meal. Ready in just about 25 minutes, it makes for the perfect weeknight meal. 

This lemongrass chicken is everything. It’s juicy, perfumed with fresh citrusy lemongrass flavors, earthy turmeric notes and ginger combined all together in a quick marinade. Once the chicken is finished marinating, this dish can be ready in 25 minutes. Honestly, it makes for an amazing meal when your in a rush or don’t want to overthink dinner. Cooking the chicken in the air-fryer keeps things quick and mess free, plus the chicken comes out super moist but with a little bit of a crispy exterior layer. 

To keep this simple and easy, we opted for some store bought lemongrass paste which we added a few extra touches for a tasty marinade. The lemongrass adds a sweet lemony taste while balanced with ginger, garlic, cumin and turmeric giving the chicken a yellowish tint. We love adding these spices because they provide your body with some added healthy properties such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and digestive goodness. Even though it’s not large quantities, you will still feel the benefits after eating and potentially the next day too. 

The first thing you’ll want to do is prep the chicken. We used breasts but if you wanted to use cutlets, skin-on or even drums they would all turn out the same. Because we’re using breasts, we wanted to pound the chicken down into the same thickness. This is an extremely important step and should always be taken when preparing chicken. When each piece of chicken is different, which is often the case, they will cook at an uneven rate. Of course checking the internal temperature is very helpful but we don’t often think about it. Pounding the meat also tenderizes the chicken so that it cooks more tender. 

HERBED RICE

This makes for such a light easy side to accompany the chicken. It’s perfect because it takes the same amount of time to cook as the chicken and we added a few finishing touches to give the rice a pop of cheesy goodness and fresh flavor. Once the rice is done and all the liquid has been absorbed, you’ll want to stir in the parmesan cheese and herbs right away so that the cheese melts a bit and coats the rice perfectly. 

MARINATED TOMATOES

The marinated tomatoes add so much more to this dish. It’s almost like making a bruschetta mix, cherry tomatoes halved and tossed with more grated parmesan, fresh chopped basil and oregano, garlic, salt and pepper and some olive oil. The tomatoes elevate this dish from just chicken and rice to something that feels more well prepared, though out, and even restaurant quality. 

COOKING

If you don’t have an air-fryer, well you should buy one! HAHA! Seriously they are a great tool to have in the chicken. Pretty much anything can be done in there. But if you don’t have them, you can pan-fry the chicken in a large skillet with a few tablespoons of oil flipping only once when the under side has turned golden. 

We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it on Instagram! We love to see what you come up with. #thecommunalfeast Follow along our social media account on instagram for quick videos on how our recipes come together!

Print Recipe

Lemongrass Chicken with Marinated Tomatoes

Crispy air-fried lemongrass chicken served with marinated tomatoes. Lemongrass, ginger, garlic, cumin and turmeric marinated chicken breasts air-fried until golden and crispy served over parmesan herbed rice and marinated cherry tomatoes. This dish is simple, quick and light and fresh for a summer inspired meal.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Additional Time2 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 2 TBS lemongrass paste
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 1.2 cup rice
• 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup parmesan grated
• 2 TBS basil chopped
• 1 TBS oregano chopped
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• Marinated tomatoes:
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS fresh basil
• 1 TBS fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
• 1 garlic clove minced
• salt and pepper

Instructions

• To make the chicken: Pound chicken using a mallet into an even thickness. I like to cover the chicken with a piece of plastic wrap first and go in with the mallet overtop. Once all the chicken is evenly pounded into the same thickness make the marinate. Combine lemongrass paste, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric and olive oil. Stir to combine. Transfer the mixture with the chicken into a sealable container or plastic bag ensuring that the chicken is fully coated and covered. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
• Marinated tomatoes: in a bowl, toss together all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper. This can be done in advance as well and set aside until ready to serve.
• Once the chicken has been sitting for 2 hours, remove it and let it come to room temperature. In the meantime, preheat the air-fryer according to directions. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and dust a bit of the cornstarch overtop. Toss with your hands or tongs to coat adding more cornstarch as you mix. Each piece should be coated with just enough cornstarch and the mixture should appear quite yellow. Spray the air-fryer basin with cooking spray and place the breast sides down cover with more cooking spray and cook for 25 minutes at 180 degrees C flipping 3 times.
• While the chicken cooks, this should allow just the right amount of time to prepare the rice. To a pot add the rice, stock and a pinch of salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce to low and cover. Let that simmer 15-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked and fluffy. If there is still liquid continue to cook until all gone. If undercooked, add a touch more stock or water and continue to cook a few minutes.
• Once the rice is done, stir in the parmesan and the fresh herbs.
• To serve: spoon rice into plates, top with chicken and finish with marinated tomatoes. Enjoy!