Sticky Soy Chicken Thighs with Jasmine Rice

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken thighs, skin-on
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 200 g jasmine rice, rinsed
• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• Fine salt and black pepper

Method

1. Tip the rinsed jasmine rice into a pan of salted water and cook to packet instructions, around 10–12 minutes. Drain, return to the pan, lid on, and leave it to steam-dry off the heat; that's how you get separate grains rather than a clump.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and a splash of the rice vinegar together into a glossy glaze. The vinegar cuts the honey so the finished sauce is sticky, not cloying.
3. Pat the chicken thighs ruthlessly dry with kitchen paper. Season the skin generously with salt and pepper before it hits the pan; season the meat itself.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a stainless or cast-iron frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the thighs in skin-side down in a single layer with room between them; crowd the pan and they'll steam instead of sear. If your pan is small, work in two batches.
5. Leave them completely alone for 8–10 minutes, pressing gently now and then, until the skin is deep mahogany, lacquered and crisp and the thighs release from the pan without a fight. Flip and cook another 4–5 minutes, until the juices run clear and the underside is bronzed.
6. Lift the chicken out onto a plate. Pour off all but a slick of fat, then pour the glaze straight into the hot pan.
7. Let the glaze bubble furiously for 2–3 minutes, swirling the pan, until it turns dark and syrupy and coats the back of a spoon. Slide the chicken back in and spoon the lacquer over each thigh until they gleam.
8. Pile the rice into warm bowls, sit the glossy thighs on top, and scrape every drop of pan glaze over. Shower with the sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds, and serve straight away while the skin still crackles.