Lemongrass Roast Chicken
Gà nướng sả
Highlands grilled chicken in the Bản Đôn style — a lemongrass-turmeric paste worked under the skin, roasted to burnished gold, with lime-chili salt.
By Vietnamese Cookbook Kitchen · June 8, 2026
The Central HighlandsThe Lê Dynasty era, 1428–1789
Nướng- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Intermediate
Drive west from Buôn Ma Thuột toward the Sêrêpôk river and you reach Bản Đôn, the old elephant-trading village of the Ê Đê and M'nông, where grilled chicken is less a dish than a regional argument. The birds are small and free-ranging, pressed flat in split bamboo, cooked whole over coals with a paste of lemongrass, turmeric, and honey, and served with cơm lam — rice steamed in bamboo tubes. Lemongrass and turmeric came up the trade paths from the lowlands centuries ago; the grilling is older than anyone's paperwork. What follows is that chicken translated for an oven and an ordinary market bird — with the paste, crucially, in the right place.
The right place is under the skin. Rubbed on top, the paste chars before the meat cooks; drowned in a marinade, it slides off in the heat. Loosen the skin and work the paste directly onto the flesh — the skin above dries and crisps while the fat beneath it slowly fries the lemongrass into the meat. The muối ớt chanh — salt, chili, and lime crushed to a wet grit — is not a garnish. It is the difference between a roast chicken and gà nướng, and the first swipe through it will explain itself better than this page can.
Crisp skin is a two-front war — paste underneath, dry air above. Leave the pasted bird uncovered in the fridge overnight and the skin will crackle instead of steam.
Lời đầu bếp · A word from the kitchen
Ingredientsnguyên liệu
Serves 4
Chicken and paste
- 1.4 kgwhole chicken — about 3 lb — the smallest bird your butcher has; highlands chickens run lean, and a small bird cooks truer to the original
- 6lemongrass stalks — bottom third only, tough outer layers peeled away, minced fine
- 20 gfresh turmeric — a thumb-sized piece, peeled — or 2 tsp ground; either way it stains, so mind your board and your shirt
- 4garlic cloves
- 2shallots — roughly chopped
- 30 mlfish sauce — 2 tbsp
- 20 ghoney — 1 tbsp — the highlands version uses forest honey; any honest jar works
- 30 mlneutral oil — 2 tbsp
- 1 tspfreshly ground black pepper
Muối ớt chanh (lime-chili salt)
- 2 tspcoarse sea salt
- 1 tspsugar
- 2bird's-eye chilies — stemmed; drop to one if your table is cautious
- 1lime — squeezed into the salt at the table, not before
Methodcách làm
Step 1: Pound the paste
Work the lemongrass, turmeric, garlic, shallots, and pepper to a rough paste in a mortar, then loosen it with the fish sauce, honey, and oil. A mortar bruises the lemongrass and frees oils a blade never will — five extra minutes for a noticeably louder chicken.
Step 2: Get under the skin
Slide your fingers between skin and breast from the cavity end, then down over the thighs, keeping the skin attached at the edges. Spread two-thirds of the paste directly on the flesh, the rest inside the cavity, and massage the skin flat. Refrigerate uncovered at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Step 3: Roast hot, then steady
Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Set the bird breast-up on a rack over a tray, roast 20 minutes to set the skin, then drop to 190°C (375°F) for another 40–50 minutes. If it darkens too fast, tent loosely with foil — the honey wants to burn before the bird is done.
Step 4: Verify, then rest
The chicken is done at 74°C (165°F) in the thickest part of the thigh, juices running clear — with poultry this is not negotiable. Rest 15 minutes on a board so the paste's oils settle back into the meat instead of onto your plate.
Step 5: Crush the dipping salt
While it rests, pound the salt, sugar, and chilies to a damp, coral-colored grit and divide among small dishes. Squeeze lime into each at the table. Carve, and let everyone drag their share through the salt — that swipe is half the dish.
Đồ nghề · The tools
Equipment
Portable gas burner
Bếp ga miniLẩu is not lẩu if someone has to keep walking to the stove. The tabletop butane burner turns a pot of broth into a two-hour dinner party.
Shop on Amazon →Charcoal grill / grill pan
Vỉ nướngNướng means fire, and lemongrass pork wants char and smoke. A small charcoal grill is the true answer; a screaming-hot cast-iron grill pan under a cracked window is the honest apartment one.
Shop on Amazon →Bamboo steamer
Xửng hấpFor bánh bao, xôi, and fish steamed whole — bamboo breathes, so nothing drips condensation back onto your work. Line it with a cabbage leaf, not parchment, and steal the leaf after.
Shop on Amazon →Mortar & pestle
Cối chàyLemongrass, garlic, and chilies pounded release oils a blender never finds — it bruises where blades slice. The sound of a Vietnamese kitchen starting dinner.
Shop on Amazon →
Equipment links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Disclosure.
Questions from the kitchen
Can I cook this over charcoal instead?
You should, if you can — that is the Bản Đôn way. Spatchcock the bird, grill skin-side up over medium coals about 40 minutes, turning every ten and finishing skin-down for the last five. The paste chars a little; that is flavor, not failure.
I can't find fresh turmeric — is ground fine?
Yes. Use 2 teaspoons and bloom it in the oil for a minute before building the paste, which wakes the flavor and softens the raw, dusty edge. The color will be nearly identical.
Why did my skin come out soft?
Wet skin steams. Pat the bird truly dry before pasting, refrigerate it uncovered so the air does its work, and don't crowd the tray. Basting is also the enemy here — the paste underneath already has that job.
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