What’s for Dinner Tonight? These Deeply Comforting Crispy Chicken Thighs With Sticky Rice

Crispy Chicken Thighs with Sticky Rice

This dish is a one-pot wonder that takes flavor inspiration from one of my favorite dim sum staples: lo mai gai, a steamed bundle of lotus leaf stuffed with sticky rice and chicken. Make this using a cast-iron braiser with a fitted lid so you can move the dish from stove to oven to table (if you don’t have one, any oven-safe pan will work just fine). Starting the chicken in a cold pan allows the fat to render more evenly, resulting in extra-crispy chicken skin; the fat from the chicken and the Chinese sausage is used to toast and flavor the sticky rice. A fitted lid traps the steam to fully cook the rice and chicken, and then the whole party goes under the broiler to give both the rice and chicken skin a crispy finish.

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 lap cheong (chinese sausages), thinly sliced

• 1½ cups (330g) sticky rice

• 1½ cups (360ml) water

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 4 green onions, thinly sliced

• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper

• Dark soy sauce, for serving

1. SEAR THE CHICKEN: Season the chicken skin with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Pour the olive oil into a large oven-safe skillet or braiser and set over medium heat. Immediately add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is golden brown and releases from the pan, 8 to 10minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate (skin-side up) and set aside.

2. STEAM THE STICKY RICE: Add the lap cheong to the pan and cook until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, in the rendered fat until the rice is lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add the water, soy sauce, green onions (save some for garnish), white pepper, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, skin-side up, and reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover and steam until the rice is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. BROIL THE RICE: Heat the broiler. Remove the lid from the pan and transfer the pan to an upper rack in the oven. Broil until the rice and chicken skin are crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully as they broil to prevent them from burning. Let cool for a few minutes.

4. SERVE: Top with the reserved green onions and serve with dark soy sauce on the side.

Chinese Enough by Kristina Cho

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Excerpted from Chinese Enough by Kristina Cho (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2024. Photographs by Kristina Cho.