Ayam Penyet
A hearty Indonesian chicken built around chicken pieces, ground turmeric and shallots β roughly 65 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 6 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 6 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (9)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Marinate the chicken with the turmeric, half the garlic crushed, and a little salt, then simmer in a little water for about 20 minutes until cooked through to at least 74 C and tender, and pat dry.
- Heat the frying oil to about 175 C and fry the poached chicken for 5 to 7 minutes until golden and crisp, then drain on paper.
- For the sambal, fry the remaining garlic, shallots, both chillies, tomato and shrimp paste in 2 tbsp oil for 4 to 5 minutes until softened and fragrant.
- Pound or blend the fried sambal aromatics coarsely with the palm sugar, a squeeze of lime and salt to a rough, spicy paste.
- Spread some sambal in a wide stone mortar or sturdy bowl, lay a piece of fried chicken on top, and press down firmly with the pestle to smash and crack the meat so it soaks up the chilli paste.
- Serve each portion of smashed chicken over steamed jasmine rice with extra sambal, slices of fresh cucumber and a lime wedge on the side.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet Β· Saucepan Β· Blender Β· Steamer
Ingredient substitutions
- Shallots
- Β½ small onion + a little garlic
- Lime
- lemon
What to serve with Ayam Penyet
- Bakso Beef
- Bubur Ayam Breakfast
- Dadar Gulung Dessert
- Gado-Gado Side
Tips & common questions
How long does Ayam Penyet take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 6 steps and 14 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of shallots?
Try Β½ small onion + a little garlic. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Ayam Penyet is an original Indonesian recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Ayam penyet keju mozarella.jpg by Cun Cun, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.