Since I had leftover lemongrass from making Bo Kho and I always have coconut milk in the pantry, I decided to make a slow cooker chicken drumstick dish with these ingredients.
After scouring my Asian cookbooks and the interwebs, I came across this recipe for Roasted Lemongrass Chicken. I Paleo-ized the recipe, added some five-spice powder, and threw the ingredients in the slow cooker instead of the oven. Super easy and delicious!
How do you prepare lemongrass?
Here’s my step-by-step tutorial on how to prepare it!
Time to make Slow Cooker Lemongrass and Coconut Chicken Drumsticks!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 10 drumsticks, skin removed
- 1 thick stalk fresh lemongrass, papery outer skins and rough bottom removed, trimmed to the bottom 5 inches
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 thumb-size piece of ginger, microplaned
- 1 cup coconut milk (+¼ cup optional at the end)
- 2 tablespoons Red Boat fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh scallions, chopped
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
I placed the drumsticks in a large bowl and seasoned them with salt and pepper.
(I always rip the skin off drumsticks with the aid of a paper towel because it makes the slippery skin easier to grab.)
I placed the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, fish sauce, coconut aminos, and five spice powder into the Vitamix blender and blitzed until a smooth sauce formed.
I poured the marinade onto the chicken and mixed it well.
I dumped the onion into the bottom of the slow cooker and put the drumsticks and marinade on top. I set the slow cooker on low and cooked it for about 4-5 hours.
When it was done cooking, I transferred it to a storage container to chill in the fridge for a couple days.
When I reheated the drumsticks, I placed it in a pot and brought it up to a simmer. Then, I tasted for seasoning and plated it.
Update: If you don’t mind dirtying your blender again, my pal Ben, gave me a great tip on how to get an extra creamy sauce at the end. When the stew is done cooking, remove the chicken and put the sauce and onions into a blender. Puree the sauce, and add ¼ cup more of coconut milk into the blender at the final moment. Put the sauce and chicken back into the cooker and keep warm.
As a final touch, I sprinkled on some chopped fresh scallions.
Remember – don’t cook it on HIGH and don’t go over 5 hours or you’ll end up with a big pot of BLECH.
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Slow Cooker Lemongrass and Coconut Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 10 chicken drumsticks skin removed
- 1 large lemongrass stalk
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 thumb-size piece of ginger microplaned
- 1¼ cups full-fat coconut milk divided
- 2 tablespoons Red Boat fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh scallions chopped
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Rip off the skin of the drumsticks. (Tip: I always rip the skin off drumsticks with the aid of a paper towel because it makes the slippery skin easier to grab.) Place in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Trim the fresh lemongrass stalk and grate finely with a microplane rasp grater (my preferred method) or smash the stalk with a meat pounder and cut finely against the grain of the fibers. The finer the dice, the less lemongrass fiber you’ll be picking out of your teeth when you eat the chicken later.
- Time to make the marinade! Place the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, fish sauce, coconut aminos, and five spice powder into a high-powered blender and blitz until a smooth sauce is formed.
- Pour the marinade onto the chicken and mix well.
- Dump the onion into the bottom of the slow cooker and pour the chicken and the marinade on top. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 4-5 hours.
- If you're eating it right away, top it with some fresh chopped scallions! If you're saving it for later, transfer the chicken and the sauce to a storage container to chill in the fridge for a couple days. To reheat the drumsticks, place it in a pot and bring to a simmer.
- For an extra creamy sauce, when the stew is done cooking, remove the chicken and put the sauce and onions into a blender. Puree the sauce, and add ¼ cup more of coconut milk into the blender at the final moment. Put the sauce and chicken back into the cooker and keep warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My wife loves this recipe and it is so easy! Thank you. My question is what should I serve with this? I have rice noodles, but what else could I serve?
Thank you in advance,
Stacie
I always serve some sort of roasted veggie or stir-fried greens (e.g. spinach with garlic, bok choy etc.).
Hi, if I wanted to use chicken breasts instead how many lbs would you recommend?
Thanks so much!
I haven’t tried this recipe I too want to know how it turns out with chicken breast instead of drumsticks