Xôi Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Sticky Rice)

Rinse the sticky rice twice until the water runs clear, cover with 500 ml water and soak for 1 hour. Then drain well.

In a pot, bring 1 L water with 1 tsp salt to a boil, add the chicken thighs and cook for 10–15 minutes, until the meat is fully cooked through. Remove the chicken, let it cool, and shred it into fine pieces.

Mix the shredded chicken with fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, thinly sliced onion, and chopped Vietnamese coriander (rau răm).

Toss the drained rice with 1 tsp oil and 1 tsp salt, transfer to a steamer basket, and steam over boiling water for 20–25 minutes, until the grains are soft and sticky.

For the scallion oil, heat 1 tbsp oil, add the white parts of the scallions for 30 seconds, turn off the heat, and stir in the green parts. Separately, heat 1 tbsp oil and fry the thinly sliced shallots until golden and crispy.

Divide the hot sticky rice among plates, top with the chicken mixture, drizzle with scallion oil, and sprinkle with the fried shallots. Serve immediately.