This Sichuan chicken with Sticky Rice is one of my favorite comfort food dinners, with tender chicken thighs, chewy glutinous rice, and a bold, umami-rich marinade. Everything gets layered into one dish and gently steamed until it’s perfectly cooked and infused with flavor.
What you’ll love about Sichuan chicken with sticky rice
The fragrance and tingling warmth of Sichuan pepper, balanced with honey, soy, and fermented chili bean sauce, makes this a meal you’ll want to return to again and again.
Why does this recipe work well in a steam oven?
The sticky rice absorbs the seasoned chicken stock and savory pan juices, turning plump and chewy without becoming heavy or gluey. Meanwhile, the chicken stays juicy and tender thanks to the gentle, even heat of steam cooking. There’s spice, depth, and texture here, but the method itself is straightforward and forgiving.
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Ingredients and substitutions
See the recipe card further down for full method and ingredient quantities.
This ingredient list may look a little specialized, but you’ll be able to find all the less-common items in an Asian grocery store, and many in the supermarket. These are pantry-friendly items that can be used in lots of Asian dishes (especially the chili bean sauce!), so they’re worth having around.
- Chicken thighs: Boneless, skinless thighs are ideal here because they stay succulent during steaming. Chicken breast can be used, but it won’t be quite as juicy.
- Soy sauce and honey: These form the salty-sweet backbone of the marinade. You can substitute maple syrup or brown sugar for the honey if needed.
- Shaoxing wine: This Chinese cooking wine adds depth and complexity. Dry sherry is an excellent substitute and works beautifully.
- Toban Djan (chili bean sauce): A fermented chili and bean paste that brings heat and umami. If you don’t have it, another chili sauce will work, though the flavor will be less complex.
- Sichuan peppercorns: Essential for the signature tingling, aromatic finish. Lightly crushing them releases their fragrance without overpowering the dish. When you buy Sichuan pepper (sometimes labelled as Szechuan pepper), it should be very fragrant and the color should be a reddish brown. With age, they lose potency and color, so it’s better to buy smaller quantities more often instead of a huge bag.
- Glutinous (sticky) rice: This gives the dish its distinctive chewy texture. Despite the name, it’s completely gluten free.
- Chicken stock: Adds body and savory depth to the rice. Vegetable stock can be used if that’s what you have on hand.
- Cilantro (coriander) leaves, green onions, and sesame oil: These are finishing touches, but they really lift the dish and shouldn’t be skipped if possible.
Variations for Sichuan chicken with sticky rice
Once you’ve made this dish as written, it’s easy to adapt.
- Add finely sliced mushrooms or water chestnuts over the rice for extra texture.
- If you like more heat, add a spoonful of chili oil at the table or an extra teaspoon of chili bean sauce to the marinade.
- Prefer a milder version? Reduce the Sichuan pepper and chilli sauce slightly and balance with extra green onions and herbs at the end.
How to make Sichuan chicken with sticky rice; step by step
View, save and print the recipe card further down in this post; read on for the visual walk-through.
Tips for success
Rinsing the rice very thoroughly is important—it removes excess starch and helps the grains cook evenly. Make sure the chicken is spread in a single layer over the rice so it cooks uniformly and the juices distribute properly. Crushing the Sichuan pepper just before using gives the best aroma and flavor, and don’t skip the short resting time at the end; it allows the rice to settle and absorb the final steam.
Serving and storage suggestions
Sichuan chicken with sticky rice pairs beautifully with simple steamed green vegetables like broccoli, green beans, or snow peas. You can add a tray of vegetables to the oven for the final few minutes of cooking and steam everything at once. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, and reheat well in the steam oven or microwave.
This lovely sticky rice with Sichuan chicken is a fantastic example of how powerful steam cooking can be. With minimal effort, you get deeply flavored chicken, perfectly cooked rice, and a dish that feels both comforting and exciting. It’s the kind of recipe that rewards a trip to the Asian grocery store, and one you’ll be glad to have in regular rotation once you’ve tried it.
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Sticky Rice with Sichuan Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 skinned and boned chicken thighs about 1lb 6oz, very well trimmed and diced into 1 inch/2.5cm pieces
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, see notes
- 2 tablespoons Toban Djan chilli bean sauce or other chilli sauce, see notes
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns lightly crushed with a mortar and pestle or the back of a heavy knife, see notes
- 1 1/2 cups glutinous rice well rinsed, see notes
- 2 cups chicken stock or broth room temperature
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves coriander leaves, for serving
- 2 green onions spring onions, sliced, for serving
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil for serving
Instructions
- Have your chicken trimmed, diced and ready to go. Put the soy sauce, honey, Shaoxing wine, chilli bean sauce, peanut oil, garlic and Sichuan pepper into a medium bowl, add the chicken and mix well to coat. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 2 tablespoons Toban Djan chilli bean sauce, 1 tablespoon peanut oil, 3 cloves garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns, 6 skinned and boned chicken thighs
- Preheat your steam oven to Steam, 212°F/100°C (100% humidity).
- Make sure your rice is well rinsed until it runs clear, and then drained thoroughly in a strainer. Put the chicken stock and rice into a baking dish (I use my favorite 12 inch/30cm round cast iron pan, but a 9×12/23x30cm or even an 8×10/20x25cm rectangle also works). Put it in the preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes.1 1/2 cups glutinous rice, 2 cups chicken stock or broth
- While the rice cooks, strain off as much marinade from the chicken as you can, and put it into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer until it’s reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- When the timer goes for the rice, remove it from the oven (it will be partially but not fully cooked). Place the chicken all over the top, in a single layer. Spoon the reduced marinade back over the chicken and return the dish to the oven for 15 minutes to cook the chicken and finish the rice.
- At the end of cooking, turn the oven off and briefly open the door to release excess steam (or, if you have a steam release feature in your oven, use that). Close the door again and let the chicken and rice sit undisturbed for 5 minutes, before serving in warmed bowls with cilantro/coriander, green onions and sesame oil over the top.1/2 cup cilantro leaves, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 2 green onions
Notes
- Chilli bean sauce or paste. I use Toban Djan, a Chinese fermented bean and chilli sauce widely available at Asian grocery stores. It’s a staple in my house and is great in all sorts of stir fries and marinades. The dish is flexible and you could use another type of chilli sauce to taste (I would if I didn’t have Toban Djan available), though you’ll miss the umami and funk of the fermented beans.
- Shaoxing wine. Another Asian grocery staple, this Chinese cooking wine lives in my pantry for all kinds of dishes. If you have dry sherry, that makes a great substitute in lieu of buying a whole bottle of Shaoxing.
- Sichuan (or Szechuan) pepper. Critical to this recipe, Sichuan pepper is available at Asian grocers and some supermarkets. If you’ve never tried it you’re in for a treat! Unlike spicy chilli, Sichuan pepper (which are the berries of the prickly ash tree and related to citrus) gives a fragrant, slightly numbing/tingling quality to a dish. I’ve never come across it pre-ground, which I think is because it loses pungency very quickly after grinding. If you have a spice grinder, drop the quantity to a teaspoon and grind coarsely. If not, do as I do and roughly smash up the full 1 1/2 teaspoons in a mortar and pestle (or, in desperation, crush with the back of your heaviest knife).
- Glutinous (sticky) rice. Where I live, this sticky, chewy rice is easily found in the supermarket, but if you can’t find it there you certainly will at an Asian grocery store (and often cheaper, too). Usually you soak glutinous rice overnight before steaming without extra liquid, but the method above lets you enjoy its lovely texture just a half hour after you decide to make it. Despite the name, glutinous rice is happily gluten free.
- Serving size. This will generously serve 4 (or, as in my case, 3 adult eaters and 2 kid-sized eaters). If you serve it with a good amount of vegetables you could definitely stretch it to 6 portions.Â
- Steamed vegetables to serve. I recommend simple steamed green veg alongside this dish; you can add a tray of veg to the oven for the last few minutes of the chicken and rice cooking (I’d go 6-8 minutes for broccoli or beans, 2-4 minutes for peas or leafy greens).
