Mild Sticky Chicken with Rice

Ingredients

• 650g boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 3 garlic cloves, grated
• 20g fresh root ginger, grated
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp runny honey
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 300g jasmine rice, rinsed
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 0.5 cucumber, sliced into half moons
• 1 carrot, cut into ribbons with a peeler
• Quick pickled red cabbage slaw, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve
• Quick pickled red cabbage slaw, to serve

Method

1. Whisk the soy sauce, honey, ketchup, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and 4 tablespoons of water in a bowl until smooth and glossy. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then toss them in half the marinade and leave to sit for 15 minutes while you get the rice on. The other half of the marinade is your pan sauce — set it aside.
2. Rinse the jasmine rice in cold water until it runs almost clear — that's the surface starch off, which is what gives you separate grains rather than a sticky clump. Cook with 540ml water using your usual absorption method: 12 minutes covered on a low heat, then 10 minutes off the heat to steam, lid on. Fluff with a fork and fold through most of the sliced spring onions.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lift the chicken out of the marinade, letting the excess drip off — too much sugar in the pan straight away and it scorches before the meat colours. Lay the thighs in the pan smooth-side down in a single layer, working in two batches if your pan looks crowded. Crowded thighs steam instead of sear. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes until deeply golden with crisp edges.
4. Flip and cook for 4 minutes more. The garlic and ginger in the marinade will catch fast once the sauce hits the pan, so have the cornflour mixed and ready: whisk 1 tbsp cornflour into the reserved marinade with 100ml water. Pour it into the pan around the chicken and let it bubble for 4 to 6 minutes, turning the thighs through it, until the glaze is thick, glossy and lacquering every piece. Watch the garlic — you want it fragrant and melding into the sauce, not burnt and bitter, so keep things moving once the glaze tightens. Chicken is done at 75°C internal, or when the juices run clear.
5. Taste the glaze in the pan. Most of the salt is coming from the soy, but a final crack of black pepper and, if it needs it, a pinch more salt ties it together. Lift the thighs onto a board and slice, or leave whole, spooning the lacquered pan glaze over the top.
6. Pile the rice into bowls, sit the sticky chicken on top, and tuck the cucumber half moons, carrot ribbons and pickled red cabbage slaw alongside. Scatter over the toasted sesame seeds and the remaining spring onion. Taste one last time — it should land sweet-savoury and glossy, never sharp.