Mr. Harmer’s Lemongrass – Vietnamese-Inspired Grilled Lemongrass Chicken

After several months of living in a cramped studio apartment in St. Thomas, Marci and I moved to a first floor apartment that was part of the Harmer Family’s home. It was a great improvement: much larger, a decent size kitchen, nice dining area, and a living space with a couch, chair, and coffee table. The bedroom could be cordoned off with an accordion door that we closed when needed. It was perfect for us – a young couple about to get married, living for a year or two in the Virgin Islands as Marci conducted her dissertation research, I taught at a local school, and before our lives got too serious.

Our landlords, the Harmers, lived upstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Harmer were elderly and in relatively poor health; he had heart trouble and she was blind. One of their adult daughters also lived at home, in part to take care of them in addition to her two young nieces. They were lovely people.

Since St. Thomas is mountainous and of volcanic origin, most houses don’t have a proper basement. It’s too difficult to burrow into the bedrock. The foundation of the Harmer’s home, like so many others, had one side at ground level, the other built as far as they could dig into the rocky hill. That’s where our apartment was. As a result, we had a bank of bright windows on one side and none on the other. There were two doors, one leading to the driveway and the other to a small porch on the side of the house with a view of the Caribbean Sea. This is where Mr. Harmer had his little garden.

It wasn’t much of a garden. A dearth of topsoil over the solid bedrock made planting almost anything a great frustration. Instead, he tended to a few plants in pots and an old garden cart slightly larger than a wheelbarrow that he filled with soil. He allowed me to sow a tomato plant or two which we would hydrate with water collected in a basin in the kitchen sink as we rinsed our dishes. We depended almost entirely on rainwater collected in a cistern for our daily needs, save drinking, and thus conservation was a serious issue.

There was one plant that particularly intrigued me in Mr. Harmer’s small plot. He grew lemongrass in an old plastic bucket. While I had eaten Thai and Vietnamese food – which often contain lemongrass – plenty of times before, I had never seen, let alone heard of lemongrass at the time. He gave me some and explained how to cook with it, discarding the very bottom and top of a stalk and peeling the outer leaves to expose the more tender, fragrant core. At the time, I never used it to prepare a dish, despite easy access in Mr. Harmer’s garden.

Fast forward a decade later, I took a class with a local Laotian chef here on Long Island. She explained how to smash the scented end with the side of a cleaver to season simple soups, or puree it in a food processor for use in a marinade, its herbaceous, citrusy flavor essential in Southeast Asian cooking. I started to use it more.

As fresh, high-quality lemongrass is not always easy to come by, I decided I must grow my own. I thought back to Mr. Harmer and I knew it couldn’t be too hard, even though he lived in the Caribbean with almost constant warmth and sunlight while I lived on Long Island with the changes in season. I discovered it wasn’t difficult to grow at all in New York.

I bought several stalks in late winter when I was shopping at an Asian market. With the top half of each stalk removed, I stood them in a jar of water placed on our windowsill. Over the next couple of months, the stems grew and wispy roots began to emerge. They needed nothing more than sunlight and frequent changes of water. Eventually as spring progressed and it became warmer outside, I took the best of the bunch and planted them individually in some soil in extra plastic pots, reminiscent of the buckets in which Mr. Harmer grew his. When there was no longer a danger of frost, they went outside to live for the summer, thriving in full sunlight with regular watering and an annual dose of nutrients. When they grew large enough, I harvested; I walked outside to the garden to break off as many stalks as I needed for the meal I was cooking that day – the freshest lemongrass available.

As the leaves change color in autumn and winter approaches each year, I choose which plants to bring inside to over-winter by the window in the protection of our garage. I cut off any brown leaves to neaten them up for their rest, and I harvest a handful of the largest stalks. These get broken down, ground to a paste, and frozen, ready for use in a dish whenever needed.

It’s funny how experiences in the past seem simple and forgettable at the time yet sometimes turn out to become important recollections influencing your life in small but memorable ways. Such is the case with Mr. Harmer’s lemongrass.

Vietnamese-Inspired Grilled Lemongrass Chicken

Lemongrass chicken is great in grilling season with fresh garden vegetables. But it’s just as good in winter when you need a break from heavy soups, stews, and braises. The bright flavors, vibrant taste, and crunchy raw vegetables are a welcome respite on a cold day, as long as you can stand the chill outside at the grill. (Of course, you could also use the broiler.) And leftover lemongrass chicken is excellent as the primary protein in banh mi, delicious Vietnamese sandwiches.

This recipe is based on a Grilled Lemongrass Pork recipe from the New York Times. It is delicious with pork, but just as tasty, and easier, with boneless, skinless chicken thigh. Chicken breast might work as well, however, thighs are more flavorful and far more forgiving on the grill.

I serve this chicken on cooked rice noodles. Steamed rice would be a good accompaniment as well. Daikon and carrot pickle is an excellent addition, or a heap of raw vegetables – carrots, cucumber, pepper, radish, snow peas – will do just fine. The fresh herbs and dipping sauce, as well as a sprinkle of chopped roasted peanuts are essential in my opinion for finishing the dish.

As for lemongrass, it is more widely available than ever before, although supermarket stalks are often lacking in quality. To learn how to use it properly, watch a quick video online. There are many. And if you can’t find lemongrass, substitute a half teaspoon of lime zest and a tablespoon or two of fresh lime juice.

There is no substitution for the unique flavor of makrut lime leaf (which you can find at many Asian grocery stores), but if it is unavailable, the chicken will still be good.

Serves 4 to 6, about 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes to 3 hours marinating time

For the chicken:

3 stalks lemongrass white and light green parts only, tough outer layers discarded, roughly chopped

1 large shallot, roughly chopped

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

3 makrut limes leaves, minced

6 Tbsp. brown sugar or palm sugar

¼ cup fish sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons vegetable, canola, or avocado oil, plus more for the grill

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 6 to 8 thighs

For the dipping sauce:

¼ cup brown sugar or palm sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. fresh red chili pepper (Thai birds eye, jalapeño, serrano, or Fresno), minced

1 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

¼ tsp. salt

For serving:

cooked rice noodles or steamed rice

daikon and carrot pickle

sliced cucumber, carrots, red pepper, radish, snow peas or other fresh raw vegetables

cilantro and mint leaves

lime wedges

chopped roasted peanuts

1. Purée lemongrass, shallot, garlic, makrut limes leaves, brown or palm sugar, fish sauce, cornstarch, and oil in a food processor or in a blender. Pour over chicken and toss to coat. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.
2. Make the dipping sauce. Bring the brown or palm sugar and ¼ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan and reduce the heat to low. Allow the mixture to cook until it has thickened a bit, about 5 minutes. Watch it carefully to make sure the water does not boil away. Add minced garlic and chili pepper. Stir, remove from the heat, and allow to cool. Once cool, add the remaining dipping sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.
3. Prepare a grill for high, direct heat. Clean grates well, then carefully brush grates with oil using a bunched-up paper towel. Grill chicken until charred on both sides and cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes per side until internal temperature reaches 165 ^oF, closing the grill lid as needed. Transfer chicken to a platter.
4. Place cooked rice noodles or steamed rice on a plate and top with grilled chicken. Serve with dipping sauce, daikon and carrot pickle, fresh raw vegetables, fresh herbs, lime wedges, and a sprinkle of peanuts over the top.

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