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
• Pickled cucumber, to serve
• Fresh coriander, to serve

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 — water means steam, and steam means no crackle. Season the skin generously with salt and pepper before it hits the pan; this is your only chance to 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 — it'll hiss and lift the brown stuck bits, which is exactly the flavour you want. The garlic and ginger in the glaze will go fragrant in about 30 seconds; don't let them scorch or the whole sauce turns bitter.
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. Taste the sauce — most of the salt comes from the soy, but adjust now with a final pinch if it needs it; at the end, not at the table.
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.