Make sure to marinate the chicken. The key to this recipe, and the key to achieving tender, juicy chicken thighs every single time is the lemongrass marinade. You need to make sure that the chicken sits in the marinade for at least 1 hour (personally, I prefer 2 hours). So yes, although this is the perfect weeknight meal because it takes less than 25 minutes to prep and cook, you do need to think ahead about the time you need to allow the chicken to marinate.

Plan ahead. I suggest whipping up the marinade as soon as you get home from work, so that by the time dinnertime rolls around, you literally spend 14 minutes on the stove cooking the chicken. Or better yet, marinate the chicken the night before, or in the morning.

How to prepare fresh lemongrass. When preparing lemongrass, only use the middle part of the stalk where the flavour is (the green part). Discard about 1 inch from the bottom and two inches from the top (there's no flavour in these parts).

The texture of lemongrass chicken. The lemongrass gives the chicken a crunchy texture. If you don't like this texture, you can use a combination of fresh lemongrass and lemongrass powder, or substitute with powder completely. To get it super fine, pour the entire marinade into a blender and pulse until smooth.

How to grill lemongrass chicken. You can throw this chicken on the grill instead. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and grill for about 6-7 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken reads 165 F.

How to serve lemongrass chicken. I like to serve this lemongrass chicken over a bowl of steamed rice or coconut rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds. It is also delicious with a bowl of noodles, a banh mi sandwich, or simply on their own.