Ayam Penyet (Spicy Indonesian Penyet Chicken)

Ayam penyet is one of the favorite meals amongst the spicy-food lovers in Indonesia. This spicy Indonesian penyet chicken, or ‘Ayam Penyet’, is famous for its super high-level spiciness. However, do not worry, it is actually a very flavorful chicken dish. Ayam penyet can be described as savory fried chicken dipped, sometimes coated, in Sambal (chili mix). The chili mix itself has a tad bit of sweet, sour, and savory flavor delicately combined together, and the spicy flavor that mainly overpowering the overall flavor.

So, today I am sharing my own version of Ayam Penyet. I think, the main key to delicious Ayam Penyet is the Sambal (chili mix). If you make it yourself, you can easily adjust the level of spiciness to your liking. Reduce the amount of Thai red chili pepper if you want it to be milder. For the one who cannot eat spicy food, you can omit the Thai red chili pepper altogether, so you have a nice Sambal that’s not spicy at all but still have great flavor.

Do not forget about the savory fried chicken. It is also the important element in Ayam Penyet dish. It should be lightly coated, yet it will still be crispy because we will be frying it twice. When you double-fry the chicken, the chicken will be less greasy and crispier. Anyhow, let’s start cooking, shall we?

Tools I used:

• Non-stick sauce pan – non-stick sauce pan that is easy to clean, not too heavy, and evenly heated your sauce.
• Deep fryer – It is quite handy to have deep fryer at home if you love to make AND EAT crunchy food. I can just leave the frying oil in the deep fryer for next time and re-use the oil after several use – and avoid cleaning oily tools too often.

Tip: You can use any parts of the chicken, but I personally think using dark meat is better. Let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours before frying. Also, when frying, ensure that you do not overcrowd the pan or deep fryer. This is to make sure that the chickens are evenly fried.

Ingredient:

• 2 lbs chicken wings – cleaned (you can also use thigh, chicken breast and so on)
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup rice flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ tablespoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika powder
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Vegetable oil to fry
• Lettuce, fried shallot, and cucumber (to garnish)

Sambal (Chili mix)

• 100 gram Thai red chili pepper (can add more to add heat or less pepper to make it less spicy)
• 1 red paprika pepper – seeded and cut into small cubes
• 3 Roma tomatoes – cut each tomato into 4 parts
• 3 medium-sized shallot – peeled
• 5 teaspoons belacan shrimp paste (terasi)
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Vegetable oil to fry

Direction:

• In a mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, rice flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Mix well.
• Then, add chicken to the mixing bowl. Coat all the chicken wings thoroughly. Then, set aside and let it marinate in the refrigerator for, at least, 2 hours. You can leave it overnight as well.
• Heat the vegetable oil in the frying pan or deep fryer under medium-high heat.
• Once heated, place each chicken wing in the frying pan or deep fryer. Do not put too many wings in the pan or deep fryer (do not overcrowd) to ensure that you evenly cooked the chicken.
• Fry each wing for about 10-15 minutes (depending on how big each wing is) or until it is golden brown.
• Take out and set aside. Cook the other unfried chicken until it’s all cooked.
• Then, fry the first batch again for about 5 minutes or so. Repeat until all chicken have been fried twice. Set aside.
• Serve with the Sambal (chili mix), fluffy steamed rice, and some garnish. Enjoy!

Making the Sambal (chili mix):

• Heat two tablespoons of oil in a skillet under medium heat.
• Once heated, add Thai chili pepper, red paprika pepper, tomatoes and shallot until they are a bit soft or about 2 minutes.
• Then, pour everything into a blender. Add shrimp paste, pulse all of them to mix them up and into your desired chili texture – but not too fine.
• Put the chili mixture back to the skillet, add brown sugar and salt. Cook under low-medium heat until the oil comes back out and a bit reddish.