Name: Xôi Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Sticky Rice)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 305 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1 cup Glutinous Rice, rinsed until water runs mostly clear; 250 g Chicken Thigh, bone-in or boneless; 3 cup Water, for soaking and simmering; 3 Shallots, thinly sliced; ¼ cup Spring Onion Greens, finely sliced; 2 tbsp Cooking Oil, for shallots and scallion oil; ¾ tsp Salt, divided; ½ tsp Sugar, for light seasoning; ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper, freshly ground if possible

5 hr 5 mintotal

1 hr 5 min hands-on4 hr hands-off

Prep 20 min · Cook 45 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: None

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Ingredients

1 cupGlutinous Ricerinsed until water runs mostly clear
250 gChicken Thighbone-in or boneless
3 cupWaterfor soaking and simmering
3Shallotsthinly sliced
¼ cupSpring Onion Greensfinely sliced
2 tbspCooking Oilfor shallots and scallion oil
¾ tspSaltdivided
½ tspSugarfor light seasoning
¼ tspGround Black Pepperfreshly ground if possible

Quantities are for 2 servings.

You'll need: Stovetop.

Includes 4 hours of soaking time for the glutinous rice.

Method

Soak the rinsed glutinous rice in water, then drain it well before cooking.
Simmer the chicken with enough of the measured water and part of the salt until fully cooked and tender.
Remove the chicken, let it cool slightly, then shred the meat into bite-size pieces. Keep a little cooking liquid for moistening the rice.
Steam the drained glutinous rice until the grains are tender, sticky, and cooked through.
Fry the sliced shallots in the measured oil until golden and crisp. Remove them, keeping the fragrant oil in the pan.
Warm the spring onion greens briefly in the shallot oil, then remove from the heat.
Fold the steamed rice with the shredded chicken, remaining salt, sugar, black pepper, and a spoonful of reserved cooking liquid if needed.
Top with scallion oil and crisp shallots. Serve warm while the rice is soft and glossy.

How to tell it's done

The rice should cling together in soft glossy grains, and the chicken should be tender enough to shred easily.

Getting it right

Tip

Drain the soaked rice thoroughly before steaming so the grains turn sticky without becoming waterlogged.

What to serve it with

Serve warm for breakfast or lunch with cucumber slices or a small bowl of clear broth.

Substitutions

Boneless Chicken can be used instead of chicken thigh for easier shredding, but thigh stays juicier.
Do not replace Glutinous Rice with Jasmine Rice if you want the sticky texture of xôi.
Crisp shallots can be made fresh from Shallots instead of using a prepared garnish.
Add fish sauce only if a fish allergen classification is acceptable for your catalog review.

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