Simple Chicken and Rice

400g boned, skinless chicken thighs

280g jasmine rice

340ml chicken stock

½ onion

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger (roughly chopped) 

2 spring onions (sliced in half  

The Marinade

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 thumb size piece of ginger grated

3 garlic cloves grated

Chilli Paste

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger 

2 cloves garlic 

1 tsp sugar 

5 birds eye chillies 

Juice of a lime

Trim all the fat and bone from the chicken and place in a pot with the chicken stock.  Add the spring onions and ginger and allow that broth to simmer on the side. 

Cut the chicken thighs into 5mm slices and put in a bowl. Add the marinade ingredients to the bowl and, using your hands, rub them together until all the marinade has been absorbed.

Rinse the rice 2–3 times to get rid of any excess starch, then drain the rice through a sieve.

Heat the vegetable oil to a medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Finely dice the onion and place in the pan to fry until golden. 

Add the washed rice to the pan and fry it for 1 minute, stirring to coat the grains evenly, then pour over the broth. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, add the chicken,  cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for 15-20 minutes. 

Remove the lid and check that the chicken is cooked (it should be light brown or white in colour, with no pink), and that the rice has formed a crisp, golden-brown layer on the bottom of the pan. If it needs it, leave it to cook for a few minutes longer. Make a quick chilli sauce from the juice of a lime, red chillies, ginger, sugar and garlic. Pop that into a pestle and mortar and break down into a chiili paste. 

Once cooked, spoon the chicken rice into bowls and garnish with the chilli.