Ayam Penyet: Indonesian Smashed Chicken in Chili Sambal

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Ayam Penyet, also known as Ayam Goreng Penyet, is one of Indonesia’s most loved comfort foods—and it’s easy to see why. This dish combines crispy fried chicken with a fiery homemade sambal, served alongside fluffy rice and fresh sides for a meal that’s bold, satisfying, and full of flavor.

Ayam Goreng Penyet

Ayam Penyet means “bruised” or “smashed” chicken, and it is a simple chicken dish with delicious flavor. It has become very popular in the last decade. This chicken dish originated in Solo, Central Java. And it has taken place in the hearts of chicken and chili lovers since it was introduced in Surabaya, East Java. 

What makes Ayam Penyet stand out is the technique: the fried chicken is gently smashed before serving, allowing it to absorb the rich, spicy sambal. The result? Juicy, tender meat with a crispy exterior, coated in a punchy blend of chili, garlic, and lime. Whether you’re exploring Indonesian cuisine or just looking for a new chicken recipe to try, Ayam Penyet delivers a perfect mix of heat, texture, and comfort in every bite.

Even though this dish doesn’t use many ingredients and its cooking method is pretty straightforward, it looks and tastes mouthwatering. If you like the western flour-dipped fried chicken you often enjoy with ready-made chili sauce from the bottle, try this Ayam Penyet. 

Just prepare plain white rice with a simple salad such as cucumber, tomatoes, and carrots. Or you can have it with this cucumber-and-tomato salad or the well-known Gado-gado. Whichever you decide, you’re good to eat this flavorsome chicken for your next dinner. Or lunch. Or brunch?? 

But please don’t complain if you can’t stop eating it, as I have the same problem whenever I make this chicken dish. I can never get enough, and at times, I become greedy.

Why You’ll Love Ayam Penyet

• It’s crispy, juicy, and tasty fried chicken smashed just enough to soak up all that spicy sambal—honestly, that combo alone is too moreish.
• You get that perfect balance of texture and flavor: crunch on the outside and tender, flavor-packed chicken inside.
• The sambal isn’t just spicy—it’s tangy, slightly sweet, and seriously wakes up your taste buds.
• It’s an all-round dish. Served with rice, fresh veggies, and sometimes tofu or tempeh, so it actually feels like a complete, satisfying meal.
• Full of surprises. It’s one of those dishes where every bite tastes a bit different (in a good way) depending on how you mix it.
• The “penyet” part—lightly smashing the chicken—means every piece is coated in flavor, not just sitting on top.
• It’s bold, comforting, and a little messy in the best way—definitely not a bland dinner.
• Great for sharing, though you might not want to.
• Once you’ve had it fresh, takeaway versions just don’t hit the same.
• It’s a proper Indonesian classic that brings serious street food energy to your kitchen.

Key Ingredients

The recipe I’m sharing with you is based on my mom’s, rooted in the original. It will help you make Ayam Penyet from scratch, without shortcuts like using ready-made chili paste or sambal. And the best thing is you can adjust the heat level of chili in your dish without reducing the deliciousness of your chicken.

So you only need 7 items.

As you can see, I put tomatoes as optional. The reason is that the original recipe doesn’t use tomatoes. However, I understand that I will need to double the number of red chilies to make enough sauce for this recipe. Although it won’t be a problem for me, it can be a problem for those who can not handle chilies well. 

Therefore, I put in tomatoes to increase the amount of chili sambal. And decrease the chili heat at the same time.

But you can omit the tomato if you are a true chili lover. And use twice as many of the big red chilies for this recipe. 

How to Make Ayam Penyet

Firstly, you marinate the chicken with tamarind and salt. If possible, try to pierce the chicken with a skewer or fork before marinating. This will help the flavor penetrate the poultry better.

Or, if you want to use a traditional approach like the original recipe, you can use the same spices as in Indonesian Ayam Goreng Bumbu (spicy fried chicken). 

Then you cook the chicken. There are three ways to cook chicken for Ayam Penyet. Either way is good, so you can choose whichever you like. They are:

1. Deep-fry the chicken until thoroughly cooked, golden brown, and slightly crispy on the outside. 
2. Double-cook and deep-fry the chicken. Steam the chicken until cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked through, heat the oil in a deep frying pan or a wok. And deep-fry the chicken until golden brown and crispy.
3. Bake or air-fry the chicken. If you’re concerned about deep-frying and prefer a healthier option, you can roast or air-fry the chicken. Roast the chicken in the oven at 4/170°C/338°F for 45-50 minutes, until fully cooked.

As for the chili sambal, pound the onion, chilies, tomatoes, garlic, and salt into a roughly ground paste. You can use a pestle and mortar or a food processor for this. Make sure you don’t pound the paste too smoothly. You want the rough cuts of chilies and onions.

Then you fry the chili mixture in some of the oil previously used for the chicken until the sambal is cooked. 

Lastly, using a pestle, lightly bruise and smash the chicken pieces. Then, pour and spread the chili sauce over the chicken. You can rub the chili all over the chicken, too. 

Top Tips to Make the Best Ayam Penyet From Scratch

• Marinate the chicken for at least half an hour to enhance its flavor. 
• When you deep-fry the chicken, do so until it goes a little brown and crispy.
• Ensure you have your chili sambal ready before deep-frying the chicken so you can pour it over while it is still piping hot. 
• Ensure you cook the chili until all the liquid released from the onion and chilies evaporates. You should end up with a nice sheen of chili sauce with the oil separated from the edges.

Ayam Penyet

5 from 2 votes

Ayam Penyet is a simple chicken dish that offers delicious flavour. It's a choice for the chilli lovers.

BY: Devy Dar

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Prep : 20 minutes mins

Cook : 40 minutes mins

Total : 1 hour hr

Servings: 6

Equipment

• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife
• Mixing bowls.
• Frying pan
• Slotted spoon

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• 1.8 pounds chicken equal to 1 whole baby chicken, cut in pieces.
• 1 teaspoon tamarind paste.
• 3-4 big red chillies cut in big chunks.
• 1 medium-size tomato see the note.
• 2 cloves of garlic minced.
• 2 small onions cut in chunks.
• 1 teaspoon salt.
• Cooking oil for frying.

Instructions

• Clean the chicken and pierce it with a skewer or a fork. Mix the tamarind with ½ tsp of salt, and rub it all over the poultry. Make sure all pieces are covered with tamarind mixture. Leave to marinate. 
• Using a pestle and mortar, pound the chillies, onion, and tomatoes into a rough paste. You can use a food processor too. Just give it a few blitzes to process. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or a wok then deep-fry the chicken pieces until light golden and thoroughly cooked. Set aside.
• Using ⅓ cup (80 ml/ 2.82 oz) of the oil from frying the chicken, fry the chilli mixture, garlic and ½ tsp of salt in another pan. Cook until all the liquid evaporates and the oil separates from the edges. 
• In the meantime, lay the chicken pieces on a chopping board. Using a pestle, pound the chicken until it’s slightly bruised.
• Then quickly but carefully pour the chilli mixture over the chicken. Enjoy.

Notes

• If you like hot chilli flavour, you can omit the tomato and just use chillies and onions. And you can double the number of chillies if you prefer a hotter-sauce. Equally, if you want a milder heat, you can replace some chillies with more tomatoes. Just bear in mind that the more tomatoes you put it, the longer you have to cook and fry the chilli mixture. Because obviously, tomatoes release more juice. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 487mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g

Devy Dar

Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.