Make Fried Chicken Indonesian-Style For A Crispier, Spicier Crust

When it comes to home-made fried chicken, there are plenty of ways to make it more flavorful, time-saving methods to get a crispy coating, and tricks to ensure every bite is as juicy as can be. All of this adds up to the best fried chicken in the world, right? For the longest time, we would have stood 10 toes down in agreement, but then we tried smashed fried chicken. Also known as ayam geprek (which literally means "crushed chicken"), this Indonesian street food is everything we want from a plate of fried chicken and much more.

As the name suggests, it starts with a piece of crispy fried chicken, which you can cook in your usual way to get that combination of juicy meat with crispy golden crumb. Then you wallop it with a rolling pin, pestle, or something heavy enough to separate the coating from the chicken meat and the latter from the bone. It makes a mess, but that's just stage one.

The smashed fried chicken is then popped on a plate of fluffy rice, drenched in sambal, a sauce made from a blend of chiles and fermented shrimp paste, and served piping hot. The combination of savory chicken, zingy, spicy sambal, and soothing rice is a feast for the taste buds. Southern fried chicken is legendary, but we think ayam geprek gives this staple a new and delicious spin.

The origins of this hearty fried chicken variation differ, depending on your source. Some say it was an Indonesian fast food chain that invented the recipe, while others claim a Mrs. Ruminah, or Bu Rum, was its creator around 2003. Whoever it was, we're grateful! Ayam geprek isn't the only kind of smashed chicken to try out either. Ayam penyet features chicken marinated in turmeric, garlic, and other tasty aromatics, which is braised or boiled, deep fried, and finally teased apart to allow the sambal to flood in. Ayam gepuk is similar, but the sambal used in this version is smokier and richer, giving the dish additional depth and nuance.

There are different sambals to blend with the chicken, too. Sambal belacan is the shrimp paste and chili blend mentioned earlier, while sambal tumis is similar to a dried chili paste and is much-loved across Malaysia and Singapore. Another version, sambal oelek, is essentially a hot sauce made from crushed chilis. If that heat is an issue for someone at the dinner table, you can dial it up or down, depending on the chilis you use (no prizes for selecting Pepper X, currently the hottest in the world) and the amount.

You can also tamp down the fire by stirring in some tomatoes, which bring a little sweetness to the sambal and your fried chicken, or even toss some mozzarella on top for a creamy, cooling counterpoint. If you want something a little lighter than rice to serve alongside your smashed fried chicken, pair it with kol goreng, a stir-fried cabbage dish that's popular in Indonesian cuisine.