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Ayam Penyet (Indonesian Fried Chicken)

Ayam penyet Indonesian fried chicken served with spicy sambal and golden jasmine rice
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Ayam Penyet is an Indonesian dish of fried chicken that’s gently smashed so the fiery sambal can seep into every nook and cranny. My version features chicken legs simmered in a fragrant turmeric, ginger and lemongrass broth before being fried until golden and crisp. I serve it with my go-to sambal and golden jasmine rice cooked in the leftover chicken broth, which is far too delicious to waste.

  • Author: zenak
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus optional marinating
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes, plus optional marinating
  • Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the chicken:

  • 4 small round shallots, quartered
  • 4 large garlic cloves
  • 30g fresh ginger (peeled weight), roughly chopped
  • 30g fresh turmeric (peeled weight), roughly chopped, or 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp water
  • 1kg bone-in, skin-on chicken legs (thigh and drumstick attached)
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, tough outer layers removed and bruised
  • 4 fresh lime leaves, roughly torn
  • vegetable oil (or any neutral oil), for deep-frying

For the sambal:

  • 8 red chillies, roughly chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 2 small round shallots, roughly chopped
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 75ml vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • juice of ½ lime, or more to taste

For the golden rice:

  • 350g jasmine rice

Instructions

  1. Make the marinade. Place the shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander seeds, salt and water in a blender. Blitz until smooth.
  2. Marinate the chicken. Place the chicken in a large saucepan (this saves on washing up!) and add the marinade. Rinse the blender with a couple of tablespoons of water to get every last bit out, then carefully toss the chicken until evenly coated. A word of warning: fresh turmeric stains! If you have time, leave the chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight. It really does make a difference. If you’re short on time, you can continue straight away.
  3. Simmer the chicken. Add the chicken stock, lemongrass and lime leaves. Bring to a gentle simmer over a medium-high heat, stirring to incorporate the marinade into the stock and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As soon as the liquid starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook gently for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (larger legs may need longer).
  4. Make the sambal. Meanwhile, place the chillies, garlic, shallots and salt in a pestle and mortar. Pound into a rough paste. This takes a little while, so consider it your arm workout for the day! If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, or simply want to make life easier, you can use a food processor. That said, I much prefer the texture of a hand-pounded sambal.
  5. Finish the sambal. Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan until shimmering, then carefully pour it over the chilli paste. Stir well, then add the sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Taste and adjust as needed: more sugar for sweetness, lime for zing, or fish sauce or salt for savoury depth. Set aside.
  6. Dry the chicken. Carefully lift the chicken out of the broth and transfer it to a wire rack. Leave to dry for 20 minutes. Water and hot oil don’t mix, so this step is important for minimising spluttering when you fry the chicken.
  7. Prepare the broth for the rice. Meanwhile, strain the cooking broth into a bowl or jug, discarding the aromatics. Measure out 500ml for the rice. If you have any broth left over, you can serve it hot alongside the meal as a little soup.
  8. Cook the golden rice. Rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs almost clear, then add it to the saucepan you used to cook the chicken. Pour in the reserved 500ml of broth and bring to a simmer over a medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 12 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave the rice to steam, covered, for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
  9. Fry the chicken. While the rice cooks, fill a large, wide, deep saucepan or Dutch oven one-third full with vegetable oil. Heat to 170°C. Carefully lower the chicken into the hot oil, working in batches if necessary. The oil will bubble vigorously at first, so take care. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until golden and crisp all over. Transfer to a wire rack to drain.
  10. Alternatively, air-fry the chicken. If you’d rather not deep-fry, preheat your air fryer to 240°C for 5 minutes. Arrange the chicken in a single layer, skin-side down, and air-fry for 5 minutes. Flip, lightly spray with oil and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown and beginning to crisp. It won’t be quite as crispy as the deep-fried version, but it’ll still be delicious.
  11. Smash the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a chopping board and gently smash each piece with a pestle, rolling pin or meat mallet. You want to crack the skin and expose the tender meat without completely flattening it.
  12. Serve. Spoon over as much sambal as you like and serve immediately with the fragrant golden rice.

Notes

Marinate ahead if you can. One hour makes a difference, but overnight is even better.

Don’t skip the drying step. Excess moisture causes hot oil to splutter. Giving the chicken time to dry on a wire rack makes frying safer and helps the skin crisp up.

Use the cooking broth for the rice. It’s packed with turmeric, ginger, lemongrass and chicken flavour. If you have any left over after measuring out 500ml, serve it hot alongside the meal.

Adjust the sambal to taste. The heat will depend on the chillies you use. Add more sugar for sweetness, lime for acidity or fish sauce for extra savouriness.

Smash, don’t flatten. You only need to crack the skin and loosen the meat slightly. The chicken should still hold its shape.

Find it online: https://zenaskitchen.com/ayam-penyet-indonesian-fried-chicken/

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