Steamed Chicken with Lime
Steamed Lime Chicken is a Thai variation of the Steamed Fish with Lime and Garlic dish. Called “Gai Neung Manao” in Thai, it is a steamed chicken dish that is very fragrant, with a sour, tangy gravy and a little spicy kick. Tender, bone-cooked chicken thighs are seasoned with salt and steamed with the aromatic and tasty fish sauce mixture before being drizzled with freshly-squeezed lime juice.
Not only is it super healthy and nutritious compared to grilling, frying or baking; it is also very appetising and mouth-watering. Serve with a side of salad or Jasmine rice for a complete meal – or just have it on its own for a keto-friendly diet!
Serves 4 adults.
Ingredients
Chicken thighs are the protein of this dish. It is the best chicken part as steaming makes them very juicy and delicious. In fact, there will be quite an amount of chicken stock released as the thighs steam, which can be used in other dishes. Although chicken breast can be used as well, the juiciness and tenderness of the meat will be slightly different. Be sure to adjust the cooking time as well.
Salt, to season the chicken thighs.
Water to steam the chicken, and a base for the fish sauce mixture.
Garlic – finely minced to release more of the allicin compound, which gives the gravy its tasty, fragrant aroma.
Cilantro and spring onions, which are both used as garnishing, and herbs for steaming. They add a bright green appearance to the thighs and a lovely fragrance. Including them also sweeten the chicken stock that is released. The cilantro root are not thrown away; instead, it is used as a herb to steam the chicken with.
Lemongrass adds a citrusy fragrance to the gravy. It also helps mask any meaty smell released by the chicken from steaming.
Lime, or lime juice, for its sharp, citrusy taste in the gravy and surface of the chicken. I also cut a few slices of lime to decorate the plate of steamed chicken thighs to show that the gravy would be sour and mildly spicy.
Fish sauce adds saltiness and umami-ness to the gravy. When mixed with garlic and chilli, and heated up, it releases a distinct mouth-watering aroma.
Sugar, which mellows the spiciness from the released capsicin by the chillies, and the sharp sourness from the lime juice.
Bird’s eye chillies; which add a little spicy kick to the gravy. I used a mix of green and red for appearance and a milder spicy flavour. Feel free to reduce the red chillies according to your tolerance levels.
Steps
Here are the brief steps to make Steamed Chicken with Lime:
- Boil the water in a steaming pan.
- Cut the herbs.
- Squeeze lime and collect the juice.
- Marinate the chicken.
- Steam the chicken with herbs.
- Make the fish sauce mixture.
- Remove the released gravy from the chicken.
- Add the fish sauce mix with some chicken gravy.
- Steam for another 3 minutes.
- Remove from the steamer.
- Add lime juice.
- Garnish with herbs.
Tips
- Smashing the garlic makes it easier to mince it later.
- For a less spicy version, remove the seeds from the bird’s eye chilli and use only green ones. I do not recommend omitting it completely as this Steamed Chicken dish needs a little spicy kick!
- Avoiding the core in citrusy fruits being squeezed gives us an easier time squeezing out the juices. To make it even easier, roll the limes with your elbow on a sturdy surface a few times to weaken the fibres within.
- Squeeze the lime wedges over a strainer to remove the seeds.
- The salt is spread over the chicken twice for even marination.
- The chicken stock obtained as a by-product of this recipe can be used in other recipes, such as stir-fried vegetables or in a spicy dipping sauce.
- Adding lime juice after the steaming plate is removed prevents it from making the gravy bitter.
- Adding sliced lime to the dish before serving adds visual interest and gives the expectation that tangy flavours are included in the dish.
- Watch the video to see exactly how I made it to ensure success!
Note: the nutritional values do not include the serving of white rice.
Storage Instructions
It’s not recommended to refrigerate or freeze this dish as fresh lime juice was used right after the chicken thighs were steamed. Reheating a gravy with lime juice makes it release bitter flavours.
Thus, it’s best to enjoy this Steamed Chicken with Lime immediately after cooking.
Recipes You Might Like
- Appetising Steamed Fish Fillets with Lime
- Thai-Style Fried Chicken Wings with Lemongrass
- Authentic Green Curry Chicken
- Easy Black Sauce Chicken with Potatoes
Steamed Chicken with Lime
Equipment
- Steamer
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
- Chopping Board
- Steamer Clamp
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 1.5 L water, for steaming
- 30 g garlic, peeled & minced finely
- 15 g cilantro & spring onion, chopped for garnishing
- 15 g cilantro & spring onion, cut into 2 inches in length
- 2 lime, to get 2 tbsp of lime juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 chicken thigh, large, roughly 580g in total
- 125 ml water
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tbsp salt
Instructions
Boiling Water
- Boil the water in a steamer over medium heat for about 8 minutes.
Preparing Herbs
- Prepare the herbs. Smash the garlic and mince finely. Set them aside.
- Chop the chillies and set them aside.
- Chop 15g of a mix of cilantro and spring onions for garnishing. Set them aside.
- Cut 1 cilantro root into half. Cut the lemongrass into thick, slanting pieces before setting both herbs aside on the same plate. Chop the rest of the cilantro and spring onions into 2 inches in length for steaming. Set aside with the cilantro root and lemongrass.
- Cut the lime into wedges, avoiding the centre core. Then, remove the centre core and most of the seeds. Squeeze the juice from the lime and set the juice aside.
Marinating Chicken
- Marinate the chicken with 1/2 tsp of salt on one side, rubbing to spread it evenly. Flip the chicken to the other side and repeat with another 1/2 tsp of salt.
- Spread the lemongrass, 2 inches cilantro and spring onions all over the steaming plate. Place the chicken on the herbs.
Steaming Chicken
- Ensure the water is boiling vigorously before placing the steaming plate into the steamer. Cover the steaming plate with another heat-resistant plate. Place the steamer over the boiling water and cover the pan. Steam for 45 minutes.
- Make the fish sauce mixture. Add the fish sauce, sugar and 1/4 tbsp of salt into 125ml of water. Mix until well-combined. Then, add all the garlic and chopped chillies. Stir briefly before setting aside.
- After 45 minutes, open the cover and remove the heat-resistant plate carefully with a steam clamp. Remove the steaming plate and pour out the chicken stock into a separate bowl. Place the steaming plate in the steamer.
- Scoop most of the chillies and garlic from the fish sauce mixture and spread them all over the chicken. Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken. Repeat with 2 tbsp of the chicken stock. Cover the steaming pan and let it steam for 5 mintes.
Serving
- Remove the steaming plate from the pan with a steam clamp. Drizzle with the lime juice and garnish with a generous amount of chopped cilantro and spring onions. Optionally, add some lime slices for decoration.
- Serve immediately with white rice.
Notes
- Smashing the garlic makes it easier to mince it later.
- For a less spicy version, remove the seeds from the bird’s eye chilli and use only green ones. I do not recommend omitting it completely as this Steamed Chicken dish needs a little spicy kick!
- Avoiding the core in citrusy fruits being squeezed gives us an easier time squeezing out the juices. To make it even easier, roll the limes with your elbow on a sturdy surface a few times to weaken the fibres within.
- Squeeze the lime wedges over a strainer to remove the seeds.
- The salt is spread over the chicken twice for even marination.
- The chicken stock obtained as a by-product of this recipe can be used in other recipes, such as stir-fried vegetables or in a spicy dipping sauce.
- Adding lime juice after the steaming plate is removed prevents it from making the gravy bitter.
- Adding sliced lime to the dish before serving adds visual interest and gives the expectation that tangy flavours are included in the dish.
- Watch the video to see exactly how I made it to ensure success!