Rookie Pan
← All recipes
Indonesia, Asia

Ayam Penyet

Indonesian smashed fried chicken: spice-simmered chicken fried until crisp, pressed into fiery shrimp-paste sambal and served with rice and fresh vegetables.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time1 h
DifficultyMedium
About servingsRaw chicken: wash hands, boards and knives after handling, and make sure it is cooked through (75 °C at the bone) before frying.

Method

  1. Roughly chop the shallots, garlic and ginger, then blend them with the turmeric, coriander and a splash of the measured water into a smooth yellow paste. A mortar and pestle works too; it just takes longer.

    Add in this stepShallots (spice paste) 4Garlic cloves (spice paste) 3Fresh ginger 8 gGround turmeric ¾ tspGround coriander ¾ tspWater 45 ml

  2. Put the chicken in a 20 cm pot with the paste, the lemongrass (bruised with the back of a knife), sliced galangal, bay leaves, salt, sugar and the rest of the water. Bring to a boil on high heat, then turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered for , turning the pieces now and then, until the liquid has almost cooked away and the juices near the bone run clear. Lift the chicken onto a rack, cool for 10 minutes and pat very dry with paper towels.

    Add in this stepBone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks 500 gFresh galangal (or extra ginger) 10 gLemongrass stalks 1Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam) or bay leaves 2Salt 1 tspSugar ½ tspWater 405 ml

    high heat→medium-low heat

  3. Pour the oil into a 24 cm wok or deep pan (no more than half full) and heat on medium-high heat to 170 °C: a wooden chopstick dipped in should bubble steadily. Cut the tempeh into 1 cm slices, rub with a little paste left in the pot and fry for until golden. Drain on paper towels.

    Add in this stepNeutral oil for deep-frying 700 mlTempeh 100 g

    medium-high heat

  4. Slide the chicken gently into the oil, laying it away from you, and fry in 1 batch for , turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp. Keep the oil at 170–180 °C. Dry chicken spatters less; never let water drip into the oil, keep a lid nearby and never leave hot oil unattended. Drain on a rack.

  5. For the sambal, heat the oil in a small pan on medium heat and fry the chillies, shallots, garlic and tomato for , until soft and lightly blistered. Add the shrimp paste for the last 30 seconds so it toasts; the strong smell is normal.

    Add in this stepOil (sambal) 1½ tbspLarge red chillies (sambal) 5Bird's eye chillies (sambal) 3Shallots (sambal) 3Garlic cloves (sambal) 1Tomato (sambal) 1Shrimp paste (terasi) 1 tsp

    medium heat

  6. Tip everything into a mortar (cobek) or small bowl, add the palm sugar and salt and pound or mash into a coarse sambal. Squeeze in the lime and taste: it should be hot, salty, a little sweet and sour.

    Add in this stepPalm sugar 1 tspSalt (sambal) ¼ tspLime ½

  7. Put a piece of chicken on the sambal and press firmly with the pestle or the back of a spoon until the crust cracks and the meat flattens slightly (penyet means smashed), then spoon sambal over the top. Serve with hot rice, the tempeh, sliced cucumber, cabbage and basil leaves.

    Add in this stepCooked jasmine rice 300 gCucumber ½White cabbage 80 gLemon basil (kemangi) or Thai basil leaves 10

Cook's tip

Simmering the chicken in the spice paste first seasons it to the bone and makes frying quick; you can do it a day ahead and keep it in the fridge. For a milder sambal, use fewer bird's eye chillies or remove the seeds.

Cooking it at camp

Simmer the chicken in its spice paste at home and carry it chilled in a cooler at 4 °C or below. At the campsite, shallow-fry it in a deep skillet with 2 cm of oil on a stable burner away from the tent, and mash the sambal in a bowl with a spoon.