Ayam Penyet - SMASHINGLY delicious fried chicken
Southeast Asian fried chicken dishes triumph all other types of fried chicken - there, I SAID IT!
we’re huge fans of fried chicken, in ALL FORMS. fortunately in Southeast Asia, there exists an outstanding variety of fried chicken dishes including; Thai Gai Tod, Malay-style Ayam Goreng Berempah, Har Cheong Gai, Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings, Jollibee (I guess?), Ayam Geprek… the list goes on!
however, one iconic fried chicken dish from Indonesia, Ayam Penyet, has captured hearts of Singaporeans, since the early days of Ayam Penyet Ria in the early 2000s. as simple as looks may go, Ayam Penyet gets a burst of flavour through its double cooking process - the chicken goes through the method of ‘ungkep’ or having it simmered in ‘bumbu’ (spice paste) for it to absorb the flavours. then it gets deep fried to crispy perfection and eaten hot!
the type of sambal (sambal bawang OR onion sambal) served with Ayam Penyet is also an important component in the whole get up! great thing about making this at home is that you can adjust the amount of chilli padi, according to your spice tolerance!
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Ayam Penyet
(serves 4)
4 chicken legs (bone-in)
2 salam leaves, lightly torn (to release aromas)
6 lime leaves, lightly torn
1.5 litre water
salt, to taste
oil, for frying
bumbu:
2 lemongrass, sliced
20g turmeric root, peeled
4 candlenuts, soaked to soften
8 shallots
4 cloves garlic,
1 tbsp coriander seeds
tahu tempeh:
200g firm tofu (taukwa), cubed
180g tempeh, sliced
1 tbsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder
3 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp salt
sambal bawang:
5 tbsp oil
100g shallots, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
100g red chillies, sliced
50 g chilli padi (bird’s eye chilli), sliced
5 candlenuts, toasted
1 tbsp belachan (shrimp paste), toasted
1 red tomato, wedged
1 lime, juiced
salt and sugar to taste
other accompaniments:
1 Japanese cucumber, sliced
a few pieces of coral lettuce
4 stalks lemon/thai basil
4 cups steamed rice
4 calamansi
directions
blend all the ‘bumbu’ ingredients into a paste. heat 3 tbsp oil in a pot and fry the rempah paste for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant. pour in water and let it boil for 3 minutes. season the broth with salt. add in salam leaves and lime leaves.
then, add in the chicken legs and bring down to a gentle simmer. gently cook the chicken for 45 minutes, uncovered. then cover the pot and let the chicken sit in the liquid until it gets to room temperature. for better marination, place the chicken and broth in the fridge overnight.
strain out the chicken form the broth/marinade. if from the chiller, let it come to room temperature first. heat a pot of oil for deep frying to 18o degrees Celsius.
carefully submerge the chickens into the oil and fry until golden brown and crispy. use the side of the knife or pestle to smash the chicken slightly.
making sambal bawang
to make the sambal, heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok with high heat. saute all the sambal ingredients (except for lime juice) until lightly charred and softened.
transfer the ingredients into a pestle and mortar, add lime juice and salt and sugar and pound coarsely into a chunky sambal.
preparing tahu tempeh
toss together tofu and tempeh with turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and cornstarch. let it marinade for 30 minutes, then fry the tofu and tempeh in the remaining pot of oil, until crispy.
assembly
place the chicken with the rice, tahu tempeh, sambal, lemon basil, calamansi (to squeeze), lettuce and cucumbers all on a plate and enjoy!
we produced this recipe and the the adjoining video together with MIJ Hub Special Needs School. consider contributing to their Ramadan fund to help special needs individuals thrive!
check out our other chicken-ish recipes below!:Chicken Varuval - a punchy South Indian dish which will make you go in for seconds!
·
