Spicy Lemongrass Chicken

I have a cold this week. Whenever I have a cold, I crave the lemongrass chicken from King Wok, a local Vietnamese restaurant. It's perfect blend of spices never fails to sooth my throat and clear my sinuses. Unfortunately, King Wok is a bit of a drive from my house and I wasn't feeling up to showering and making the trek.  So, I decided to try to make my own.  This recipe is not exactly like King Wok's but it is almost as tasty and just as spicy and had the same healing effect on my respiratory system.  And, my husband loved it and asked me to make it all the time, so I decided I needed to record it here. As usual, I didn't measure anything as I cooked it, so amounts are estimated and can be adjusted to taste.  This was adapted from several different Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken recipes found online.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken, sliced thin (I used tenders that I had in the freezer but breasts or thighs would work as well.)
• 1/2 onion (or scallion or shallot), sliced thin
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1-2 tsp Fresh ginger, grated fine (I keep a lobe of ginger in the freezer and just grate some off whenever I need it.  It keeps forever that way.  This was not in any of the traditional recipes but I wouldn't leave it out.  The ginger added a spicy sweetness that pulled all the flavors together. It's also great for colds.)
• 1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes (or 2-3 dried or fresh chilies, chopped)
• 2-3 tsp dried lemongrass (or 1 stalk fresh lemongrass sliced)
• black pepper, to taste
• soy sauce 
• 1-2 tbsp tamari soy sauce (Or fish sauce, which is more traditional. I didn't have that so I substituted the tamari, which has a more complex umami flavor than regular soy sauce. More soy sauce, oyster sauce or even a bit of miso paste and water would work here as well.)
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• 2-3 tbsp sriracha sauce
• 2-3 pinches of curry powder (Be careful not to let it overpower the dish. You don't want to really taste the curry powder, it should just give a little punch of flavor under the heat of the chilies)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Drizzle the chicken lightly with soy sauce and crack some black pepper over it. Sprinkle on the dried lemongrass and red pepper flakes and toss to blend.  The more red pepper, the hotter it will be. 
2. Heat oil in a skillet or wok until hot
3. Add seasoned chicken to pan and stir until it is mostly cooked through
4. Add onion to pan with chicken and let cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft and any extra liquid from chicken or onions is evaporated from the pan
5. Add in garlic, ginger, curry powder and a bit more lemongrass (if using dried lemongrass to 'freshen' the flavor of it) and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic and ginger are just fragrant, or about a minute.
6. Add tamari sauce and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved and both are evenly distributed.
7. Squirt on some sriracha to taste, stir in and turn off heat.
8. Serve over steamed white rice.