Let that marinade for a while...

From what I've been told by my parents, when they go back to Vietnam, they'll find that the food there just doesn't live up to their memories, and often times the American version is much better.  I'm sure for some things like seafood, nothing will beat a freshly caught fish from the Pacific, but for proteins like pork, chicken and beef, the quality of the American product is far superior.  This is probably why there so many meat dishes in Vietnamese cuisine heavily lean on sauces and marinades to flavor the protein, helping to cover up the poor quality.  Of course, I just pulled all of this out of my ass so I have no idea if it's true or not.

This is my lemongrass marinade, tweaked over countless bbq's and week night dinners.  I think it's pretty good.  The subtle sweetness and herby taste from the lemongrass goes great with pork, chicken or beef.  Whether you cook it in a pan, baked in an oven, it'll taste amazing (although it tastes best cooked over a hot charcoal grill - although what doesn't taste best cooked that way?)  

In this preparation, I marinaded 2 chicken breasts overnight, then cooked sous-vide at 150F for 2 hours and crisped the skin in a skillet. Served with a side of papaya salad.

Lemon Grass Marinade

(enough for 3lbs of protein)

1/4 cup of minced lemongrass

1/4 cup of sugar

2 tbsp of fish sauce

1 tbsp of dark soy sauce

1 tsp of pepper

2 tsp of sesame oil