Coconut Milk Braised Chicken

Coconut milk-braised chicken is a delicious whole-chicken recipe that is very easy to make. The chicken is coated with a lemongrass and ginger rub, then slow-cooked in coconut milk.

Slowly braising a whole chicken in rich coconut milk is one of my favorite ways to get incredibly tender, flavorful meat. Infused with lemongrass, ginger, and lime juice, the chicken gently cooks until it’s so soft it practically falls off the bone. Once it’s done, you simply pull the meat apart and spoon that dreamy sauce over the top. Serious yum.

Here’s why I love this coconut milk braised chicken: the gentle Thai-inspired flavors are incredible, the meat is tender enough to pass for pulled chicken, and after a quick initial sear, the dish mostly cooks itself—hands-on time is about 20 minutes, max. And that sauce? It’s so good you’ll be tempted to eat it by the spoonful.

So what does braising mean, anyway?

Don’t be intimidated by the term. Braising is a fancy word for cooking meat or veggies in liquid for a long time over low heat. Think crockpot; it’s the same technique, just done in a pot in your oven or on your stove.

Braising is best for cheaper, tougher cuts of meat. The long, gentle cooking process breaks down connective tissue, melts fat, and allows the muscle tissue to absorb moisture. This makes the meat very tender. It’s also 100% foolproof. If you can put meat in a pot and pour the liquid over it, you can braise.

In this coconut milk chicken recipe, we’ve used coconut milk as the braising liquid and added ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, and a few other ingredients to give it lots of flavor.

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Coconut Milk Braised Chicken Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 2 hours hrs

Total: 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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Coconut milk braised chicken is a delicious whole chicken recipe that is very easy to make. The chicken is coated with a lemongrass and ginger rub, then slow-cooked in coconut milk. The flavorful sauce is incredible poured over rice!

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Ingredients

• ▢ 4 lb. whole chicken
• ▢ 4 tablespoons melted coconut oil (divided)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ginger paste (divided – see notes)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ Zest and juice of 1 lime
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste
• ▢ 10 stems cilantro (leaves and stems separated)
• ▢ 14 ounce can coconut milk (about 2 cups)

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the melted coconut oil with 1 teaspoon of the ginger paste, the lemongrass paste, and salt. In another small bowl, mix the remaining tablespoon of ginger paste with the lime zest and juice, garlic, green curry paste, and the cilantro stems.
  1 tablespoon lemongrass paste, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, Zest and juice of 1 lime, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste, 10 stems cilantro, 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• If there is a string tying your chicken, remove it. Dry the chicken with paper towels. Carefully seperate the skin from the chicken breast, trying not to tear the skin. Using a spoon, spread the mixture with the lemongrass under the chicken skin. If any gets on the chicken skin, remove it with paper towels or it will burn.
  4 lb. whole chicken
• Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large pot or braiser. Place the chicken in the pan, bottom side down to start, and sear it on all sides until it is nicely browned. Use a pair of tongs to turn the chicken, inserting one tong end into the chicken and gripping with the other tong end on the outside of the chicken. When brown, remove the chicken from the pan and pour out the oil. (See notes)
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot then pour the mixture from the remaining small bowl into the pot. Let it cook for 1 minute then pour in the coconut milk. Put the chicken in the pot, breast side up. Cover the pot and put it in the oven for 2 hours.
  14 ounce can coconut milk
• Remove the chicken from the pot and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving. Bring the liquid that is in the pot to a boil over high heat until it reduces to 1 cup.
• Serve the chicken with the reduced sauce on the side and some cilantro leaves sprinkled over the top.

Notes

Ginger paste and lemongrass paste can be bought in the produce section of most grocery stores. You can also make your own by grating ginger with a microplane and very finely mincing lemongrass.

After searing the chicken, we remove the oil from the pan as we find that the flavor is best with fresh oil.

If you’d rather braise this dish on the stovetop, prepare the chicken as per the recipe, but cook it over very low heat on your stove. You want the liquid to be at only the slightest simmer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving = ⅙ of the recipe, Calories: 798kcal (40%), Carbohydrates: 5g (2%), Protein: 57g (114%), Fat: 60g (92%), Saturated Fat: 26g (163%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g, Monounsaturated Fat: 19g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 227mg (76%), Sodium: 658mg (29%), Potassium: 616mg (18%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 1g (1%), Vitamin A: 1073IU (21%), Vitamin C: 10mg (12%), Calcium: 47mg (5%), Iron: 3mg (17%)

© Author Kristen Stevens

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.

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