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Sticky Chicken

A one-pot chicken and rice dish simmered with tomatoes, peppers, paprika, onion, and bay leaf.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,769 recipes. Both carry (e,e)-2,4-decadienal, which smells fatty, deep fried. The science ↓

Sticky Chicken

Timeat least 60 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Brown the chicken

  1. Heat a heavy black iron pot with a heavy lid. Add 1/2 cup of lard and brown all sides of the chicken pieces (legs, wings, breasts, backs, etc.).

  2. If you have liver and gizzards, add them. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.

Build the layers

  1. In the remaining juices and lard, sauté 1 chopped onion with the 2 cups of rinsed raw rice until the onion becomes transparent.

  2. Stir in 1 heaping tablespoon of Hungarian paprika and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.

  3. Add 1 chopped green pepper and one can of whole tomatoes (not drained, pulled apart).

  4. Throw in 1 bay leaf and mix the rice and vegetable mixture.

  5. Layer the browned chicken over the rice and vegetable mixture, alternating layers of rice and chicken.

  6. Shake the pot gently to settle the layers.

Simmer

  1. Simmer the pot over moderate heat; when it starts to cook, lower the heat, cover, and do not lift the lid for at least 60 minutes.

  2. Occasionally shake the pot, but keep it covered.

  3. Use the lowest heat possible; you can hear when it is cooking.

  4. Adjust salt seasoning; the dish should be moist, not sloppy like a stew.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

665Calories
39 gProtein
18 gFat
89 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Banana1 medium (118g)105
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,769 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  2. Rice + tomatotop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken
Browned pieces provide savory flavor and the meat becomes tender during the long covered simmer.
Lard
Fat for browning the chicken and sautéing the vegetables, carrying flavor through the dish.
Raw white rice
Absorbs the cooking liquid and juices, becoming the tender base of the stew.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it sautés, building the aromatic base of the dish.
Hungarian paprika
Adds sweet, earthy color and flavor throughout the rice and chicken.
Tomatoes
Provide acidity and moisture that cook into the rice as it steams.

The step that matters

Keep the lid on and the heat low. Lifting the lid or running high heat lets steam escape and cooks the rice unevenly, so it can scorch on the bottom or stay firm. Steady, covered low heat lets the rice absorb the liquid gently.

Swap the banana

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, onion, rice, tomato):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Mangofits better
  4. Bananathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, onion, rice, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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