Name: Pleiku Grilled Chicken with Bamboo-Tube Rice (Gà nướng cơm lam)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 210 min
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 1 small whole chicken, about 1.4 kg, butterflied and patted dry; 40 g lemongrass tender lower parts, finely minced; 60 g shallots, finely minced; 15 g garlic, finely minced; 5 g fresh red chili, minced (reduce or omit for mild heat); 30 ml fish sauce; 20 g honey; 20 ml fresh lime juice; 2 g five-spice powder; 8 g granulated sugar; 15 ml neutral oil; 2 g ground black pepper; 300 g glutinous rice; 1 L water for soaking, to be discarded; 360 ml fresh water for the tubes (120 ml per tube); 3 g fine salt; 3 small pieces fresh banana leaf, for loose tube caps; 3 fresh bamboo tubes, as listed in the equipment; 25 g unsalted roasted peanuts; 15 g white sesame seeds; 3 g fine salt; 1 g ground black pepper; 1 g fresh red chili, finely minced (optional); 200 g cucumber, sliced; 25 g rau răm (Vietnamese coriander) leaves, washed; 1 lime, cut into wedges

Pleiku grilled chicken with bamboo-tube rice. Charcoal-grilled lemongrass chicken with sticky rice cooked in bamboo, peanut-sesame salt, cucumber, herbs and lime. — Charcoal-grilled lemongrass chicken with sticky rice cooked in bamboo, peanut-sesame salt, cucumber, herbs and lime.

Yield 4 servings

Cook time About 60 minutes

Passive time 2 hours for soaking rice; the chicken marinates during this time

Total time About 3 hours 30 minutes

Calories About 680 kcal per serving

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Pleiku Grilled Chicken with Bamboo-Tube Rice (Gà nướng cơm lam)

In Pleiku and the wider Gia Lai highlands, smoky grilled chicken is often served with fragrant sticky rice cooked inside bamboo. The chicken is described as lean and pleasantly firm, while the rice is tender and lightly scented by the tube. Peanut and sesame dipping salt is a reported accompaniment. Household marinades and serving details vary, so this measured home recipe follows those regional cues without claiming one fixed formula or a single origin story.

Butterflying the chicken helps it cook evenly over a covered charcoal grill. Lemongrass, shallot, garlic, chili, honey, five-spice and fish sauce make a savory-sweet coating; keep a little marinade separate before it touches raw chicken if you want to glaze the skin at the end. Soak the glutinous rice while the chicken marinates, then cook it in sound, fresh food-safe bamboo tubes over moderate coals. Rotate the tubes often and keep them attended.

Practical

Tips for successSoak the glutinous rice for the full 2 hours so it cooks evenly in the tubes. Keep the bamboo tubes no more than half full and cap them loosely with banana leaf; do not seal them airtight. Grill over moderate, mostly indirect coals and rotate the tubes frequently so one side does not scorch. Use a thermometer in both the thickest breast and thigh; browned skin alone does not show that the chicken is safely cooked. Watch the honey marinade over the coals because it can darken quickly.

Ingredients

Lemongrass grilled chicken

1 small whole chicken, about 1.4 kg, butterflied and patted dry
40 g lemongrass tender lower parts, finely minced
60 g shallots, finely minced
15 g garlic, finely minced
5 g fresh red chili, minced (reduce or omit for mild heat)
30 ml fish sauce
20 g honey
20 ml fresh lime juice
2 g five-spice powder
8 g granulated sugar
15 ml neutral oil
2 g ground black pepper

Bamboo-tube sticky rice

300 g glutinous rice
1 L water for soaking, to be discarded
360 ml fresh water for the tubes (120 ml per tube)
3 g fine salt
3 small pieces fresh banana leaf, for loose tube caps
3 fresh bamboo tubes, as listed in the equipment

Roasted peanut-sesame salt and serving

25 g unsalted roasted peanuts
15 g white sesame seeds
3 g fine salt
1 g ground black pepper
1 g fresh red chili, finely minced (optional)
200 g cucumber, sliced
25 g rau răm (Vietnamese coriander) leaves, washed
1 lime, cut into wedges

Method

Rinse the glutinous rice until the water is mostly clear. Cover with 1 L water and soak for 2 hours. Drain very well, discard the soaking water and mix the rice with 3 g salt.
Stir together the lemongrass, shallots, garlic, chili, fish sauce, honey, lime juice, five-spice, sugar, oil and black pepper. If you plan to glaze the chicken at the end, reserve 5 ml of this marinade now, before it touches raw chicken. Rub the rest over and under the skin of the butterflied chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes; this can happen during the rice soak.
Wash three sound, fresh food-safe bamboo tubes and soak them in water for at least 30 minutes. Divide the drained rice evenly among them, filling each no more than halfway. Add 120 ml fresh water to each tube and loosely cap the openings with banana leaf. Do not seal the tubes airtight.
Set up a covered charcoal grill for two-zone medium heat, about 175–190°C at the cooking grate. Put the chicken over indirect heat, skin side up. Cover and grill, turning as needed for even browning, until both the thickest breast and thigh reach 74°C / 165°F, about 45–60 minutes. Move briefly over direct heat to crisp the skin, watching closely because the honey can darken fast. Rest the chicken for 10 minutes. If using reserved marinade as a glaze, boil it fully before brushing it on.
Cook the bamboo tubes over moderate indirect coals, rotating them every 5–7 minutes so all sides heat evenly. Cook for about 45–60 minutes, until the rice is tender throughout and the bamboo is charred in spots. Keep the tubes attended and away from a high flame. If a tube splits, remove it from the heat and transfer the rice to a covered heat-safe pan to finish cooking. Let the tubes cool enough to handle.
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant. Coarsely crush the peanuts and sesame with 3 g salt, 1 g pepper and the optional chili to make the dipping salt. Wash and dry the rau răm, slice the cucumber and cut the lime into wedges.
Carefully split or peel the bamboo tubes to expose the sticky rice, then cut the rice into serving pieces. Carve the rested chicken and serve with the bamboo rice, peanut-sesame salt, cucumber, rau răm and lime. Keep raw-chicken tools away from the cooked food. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours at or below 4°C / 40°F and use within 3 days. Reheat chicken to 74°C / 165°F and rice until steaming hot.

Practical

Practical guidance

Fresh, sound, food-safe bamboo is essential for cooking the rice in tubes. Do not use dry, cracked, painted or chemically treated bamboo. If bamboo tubes are unavailable, cook the soaked rice in a rice cooker according to its glutinous-rice instructions. The rice will be tender but will not have the same bamboo aroma. Adjust the chili or leave it out for a milder marinade. The dipping salt can also be made without chili. Keep the grill at moderate heat. If the skin is browning before the chicken reaches temperature, move it farther from the coals and continue cooking covered. Refrigerate raw chicken while it marinates; do not leave it on the counter.

Troubleshooting

Chicken skin darkens too quickly: move the chicken to indirect heat and lower the grill temperature; honey colors fast. Chicken is browned but not at temperature: keep cooking over indirect heat and check the breast and thigh again. Rice is hard in the center: return the tube to moderate indirect heat and rotate until the grains are tender; if the tube has split, finish the rice in a covered pan with a small splash of water. Rice sticks to the bamboo: let the tube cool briefly, then split the bamboo lengthwise and peel it away from the rice.

Frequently asked questions

What is cơm lam? It is sticky rice cooked inside a bamboo tube. The rice is soaked, placed in the tube with water and cooked over heat; the tube is opened before serving. Can I cook the chicken in an oven? Yes. Roast it skin side up at 200°C / 400°F until both breast and thigh reach 74°C / 165°F. It will lack the charcoal smoke of the grill. Can I prepare parts ahead? You can mix the dry dipping salt ahead and refrigerate the marinated chicken for up to 24 hours. Keep it chilled, then grill it to temperature and cook the rice on the day of serving.

Nutrition per serving

These rounded estimates divide the listed ingredients among four servings. Edible chicken yield, skin, rendered fat and fish-sauce brands change the values. This is an estimate, not laboratory analysis.

Nutrition per serving

Serving sizeAbout 550–700 g including chicken, bamboo rice, dipping salt and fresh accompaniments
CaloriesAbout 680 kcal
CarbohydrateAbout 68 g
ProteinAbout 45 g
FatAbout 25 g
FibreAbout 3 g
SodiumAbout 950 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains fish (fish sauce), peanuts and sesame. Check fish-sauce labels for additional allergens and cross-contact warnings. Keep raw chicken and its marinade separate from cooked rice and ready-to-eat sides. Wash hands, tools and surfaces after handling raw poultry. Cook chicken to 74°C / 165°F in both the thickest breast and thigh. Do not rely on color or grill time alone. If using marinade that touched raw chicken as a glaze, boil it fully first; otherwise discard it. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours at or below 4°C / 40°F and use within 3 days. Reheat chicken to 74°C / 165°F and rice until steaming hot. Use only fresh, sound, untreated food-safe bamboo. Soak the tubes, cap loosely, rotate over moderate coals and attend them throughout cooking.

Enjoy

Put the peanut-sesame salt, cucumber, rau răm and lime on the table so everyone can season each bite.
Open the bamboo tubes just before serving, while the sticky rice is warm and fragrant.

Pleiku Grilled Chicken with Bamboo-Tube Rice (Gà nướng cơm lam)

Practical

Ingredients

Lemongrass grilled chicken

Bamboo-tube sticky rice

Roasted peanut-sesame salt and serving

Method

Practical

Practical guidance

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

Enjoy

Vietnamese National Dishes

Cơm Lam Tây Bắc (Northwest Vietnamese Bamboo-Tube Sticky Rice)

Bún gỏi dà (Sóc Trăng Tamarind Shrimp and Pork Noodle Soup)

Xôi miền Bắc — Hải Phòng (Northern Vietnamese Mung Bean Sticky Rice)