Vietnamese Star Anise and Lemongrass Chicken Claypot

This is a great quick and easy weeknight dinner. I had a bit less meat and cup back slightly on the amount of stock, but left the amount of the seasonings the same. Next time, I might be tempted to double the anise and chili just to give the dish a bit more of a kick. The flavours as is are quite subtle but clean.

Vietnamese Star Anise and Lemongrass Chicken Claypot (from Mighty Spice)

Ingredients
3 lemonstalks, trimmed and bashed a bit
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 star anise
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
500g chicken thighs, roughly chopped
1 red chili, finely sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce
pinch of sugar
juice of 1/2 lime
2 1/2 cups hot chicken stock
rice, to serve

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add star anise and cook briefly until fragrant.
2. Add onion and stir-fry 5 - 6 minutes until soft.
3. Add garlic, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.
4. Add chicken, lemongrass, red chili, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and chicken stock. Stir and bring to a boil.
5. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
6. Remove lid, increase heat to medium and cook 5 minutes.
7. Remove lemongrass and star anise and serve with rice.