Ayam Geprek (Smashed Fried Chicken)
Serves 4
50 mins prep
30 mins cook
80 mins total
Ayam geprek, an Indonesian dish of smashed crispy fried chicken mixed with sambal (spicy sauce). Serve alongside white rice, cucumber and cabbage for a hearty and flavorful meal.
Main Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
Seasoned Flour
Traditional Sambal (Spicy Sauce)
Easy Sambal (Spicy Sauce)
Others
*Air Frying Option
Marinating Chicken
Marinate the chicken thigh with the marinade for at least 30 minutes.
Dry Mix
Combine all the ingredients for the seasoned flour and set aside and prepare a bowl of cold water.
Dredging
Take a piece of the chicken thigh and lightly dredge it in the dry mix. Making sure every inch is coated.
Dip the chicken in cold water, careful not to rub off the flour coat.
After lifting the chicken out of the water, wait for 10 seconds before putting it back into the dry mix so the water does not drip into the dry batter.
Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour again, making sure the every inch is coated. Do a tossing and rubbing motion to create the curly crispy coating. If the flour rubs off, keep tossing in the flour and repeat until everything is coated.
Optional but highly recommended step (see notes): Repeat the process until you've done it a total of 3-4 times. Best to use new cold water for every piece of chicken.
Immediately fry the chicken after dredging.
Frying the Chicken
Fry the chicken over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
Let the fried chicken rest on a cooling rack for a few minutes to drain the oil before serving.
Traditional Sambal (Spicy Sauce)
In a mortar and pestle or food processor, add the chili peppers and garlic. Mash or blend it until you get a rough paste then transfer to a heat proof bowl.
Heat up the neutral oil until it's smoking then turn off heat and safely and immediately pour the oil over the chili pepper mixture.
Season with salt, sugar and add the lime juice. Mix well and adjust to taste.
Easy Sambal (Spicy Sauce)
Pour in as much cooking oil to cover the surface of a medium sized frying pan and heat it up over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot enough, add the onion, garlic, Serrano peppers and chili peppers.
Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
Add the tomato and cover for 1-2 minutes or until the tomato is soft.
Sauté for another minute and turn off heat.
Once it's cool enough, mash the sautéd mixture in a pestle and mortar or in a food processor.
Transfer into a serving bowl and season with salt and sugar. Mix well.
Serving
Add the sambal on top of the chicken and smash the fried chicken with the back of a knife or a pestle.
Serve the chicken with the spicy sauce on top or on the side with cabbage, cucumber and white rice. Enjoy!
Air Frying Option
Mix all the ingredients together for the seaoned panko crumbs.
Coat the marinated chicken with the seasoned panko crumbs.
Spray a layer of cooking oil and air fry at 375 F for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway and spraying a layer of cooking oil on the surface after flipping.
