Ayam Geprek: The Best Indonesian Fried Chicken

Welcome to another great recipe. This one definitely wins the award for the best flavor, structure and visual effect out of all my recipes! Ayam geprek is basically a battered fried chicken recipe, smashed rubbed in sambal after frying! Absolutely amazing in taste, definitely the best crispy fried chicken I’ve ever made (and tasted?).

To make ayam geprek, simply deep fry battered chicken and smash the crust! Rub the smashed fried chicken in sambal to let the flavors seep in. Really simple and spicy fried chicken!

What is ayam geprek?

Ayam geprek originates from Indonesia and literally means “smashed chicken”. The smashing is done after frying to open the crispy jacket of the chicken. A spice paste (sambal) rub is used to coat the smashed chicken and give it more extensive flavors.

The chicken traditionally is used including the bone, like with chicken leg or thighs. However, for convenience you can choose to use bone-less chicken of course!

You can serve ayam geprek with steamed rice, nasi goreng, nasi kuning, whatever! You can add additional side dishes like tempe goreng, tahu gejrot, terong balado, to create really amazing food.

Let’s continue with how to make ayam geprek!

Step 1: Collect the ingredients

Disclosure: please be aware that the kcal count was estimated using a tool and can deviate from the actual kcal count of your dish.

What to consider when choosing the ingredients

This recipe is already amazing on its own, try it out definitely how it was written down and make your own version if you wish! Use your favorite chicken meat, yogurt type, vodka brand to adapt the battered chicken.

For the spiced flour, use any dried spices you like. This is an amazing opportunity to try around different spices. I added some bread crumbs to make the crispy jacket even thicker and more crispy, implement your favorite bread crumbs to make this recipe your own!

The sambal rub can be any sambal or chili sauce you prefer. I used my sambal ketumbar as I love it so much! Pick your favorite and rub that chicken.

Some other recommendations: sambal jahe, sambal geledek, sambal manis. Visit my spicy additive page for more inspiration!

I’ve served this fried chicken with some acer campur and sriracha mayo for some really good times. The acer campur I can highly recommend to implement some acidic flavor and sriracha mayo for a great spicy sauce!

Pick your favorite sides to serve with ayam geprek, consider serving with a rice dish to make this serving size for 4 people! Nasi kuning I would highly recommend as a stand alone rice dish to accompany the fried chicken. Let’s continue with the step to take to make ayam geprek!

Step 2: Cut the chicken and make the flour and batter mix

It get’s quite simple from here on, cut the chicken roughly. I halved the chicken thighs to still have quite large boneless fried chicken. Definitely not bite sized. Set aside to reach room temperature, this will make the shock with the hot oil less cruel!

Next I mixed the flour and batter mix:

Very easy, I’ve set the mixes in line with the cut chicken and frying pan so I can easily throw in the chicken right after battering.

Step 3: Deep-fry the chicken

Continue by setting a frying pan on high heat with the oil, alternatively you use a deep fryer or any other deep frying method you use normally, mine works nicely if you don’t really have a standard setup. I just use a frying pan and lots of oil!

Wait for the oil to heat up, depending on your heat source this might take some time. Throw in a single bread crumb and see if it gently starts boiling. If so, the oil is hot enough!

Now simply take a piece of chicken, cover in flour mix and add to the batter. Fully cover in batter and go back to the flour mix once more! This will ensure a great, thick and solid crispy jacket after frying.

You want to fry in batches so you don’t overfill the oil. I fried 4 pieces of chicken at a time (depends on your frying pan).

Gently drop the first batch of chicken into the oil, it should start singing gently with lots of bubbles coming off the chicken.

Now fry for about 5-10 minutes and occasionally turn around the chicken. It really depends on the chicken size, temperature of the oil and chicken but you know the chicken is ready when the jacket is crispy and golden brown!

Set aside in a drainer covered with kitchen paper to soak up the oil. This will make the jacket even more crispy!

Don’t worry if you think the chicken is getting cold, once you’ve fried all the chicken you can shortly drop in this batch for a minute so that it heats up again (plus double fried is double the fun).

Continue with the next batches. Once you’ve reached the final batch, start preparing to serve!

Step 4: Smash, rub with sambal and serve

Once you are frying the final batch, prepare the acer campur (store-bought or homemade) and sriracha mayo and place in the dish you will serve in. I simply put the acer campur in a bowl and sriracha mayo I made with 60-40 ratio of mayo and sriracha respectively.

Now you want to smash the chicken pieces that are still hot. I simply placed them on a cutting board and pressed them with a wooden spoon to smash them. Next I took a teaspoon or two of sambal and rubbed the smashed chicken! Place in a bowl and serve. In the meantime reheat the chicken that went cold and repeat!

Hopefully the ayam geprek turned out as amazing as it did for me! Let me know what you think and rate if you’ve made it.

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my other ones:

• Fu yung hai
• Mi hun goreng
• Telur balado
• Pangsit
• Nasi goreng ayam

Yum

FAQ

What is the difference between Ayam Penyet and Ayam Geprek?

The main difference between ayam penyet and ayam geprek lies in the cooking method used; ayam penyet is deep-fried while ayam geprek is shallow-fried before being smashed with a pestle or hammer for increased flavor absorption into the meat itself. Additionally, ayam penyet usually comes accompanied with either steamed rice or lontong while ayam geprek usually comes served with steamed plain white rice as its base accompaniment instead.

What is Ayam Geprek in English?

Ayam Geprek translates to “smashed fried chicken” in English.

What is Ayam Penyet made of?

Ayam Penyet is typically composed of a marinated, deep-fried chicken served with spicy sambal sauce and a side of steamed rice or lontong.

Why is Ayam Penyet smashed?

The smashing process helps to break down the tough muscle fibers in the meat, making it more tender and flavorful when cooked. Additionally, it allows for the sambal sauce to penetrate the meat and provide an even distribution of flavors.

Where did Indonesian Fried Chicken come from?

Indonesian Fried Chicken has its roots in Indonesian cuisine, but has been adapted by many other countries and cuisines over time. It can be found commonly throughout Southeast Asia today.

What is Nasi Ayam Geprek?

Nasi Ayam Geprek is a popular dish consisting of steamed rice topped with fried chicken that has been smashed (Geprek) and seasoned with a spicy chili sambal sauce. This traditional dish from Indonesia typically includes pieces of white onion and celery as well as cucumber slices as accompaniments.