Recipes

Ayam Geprek (Smashed Fried Chicken with Garlic Chili) Recipe

Name: Ayam Geprek (Smashed Fried Chicken with Garlic Chili) Recipe
Prep time: 30 Minutes
Yield: 2 Servings
Ingredients: 2 pieces chicken breast fillet (or thigh); 500 ml Nabati Cermelang cooking oil (for deep fry); Marinade: 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper; Dry Batter: 150 gr all-purpose flour, 50 gr cornstarch, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder, 1/2 tsp salt; Wet Batter: 1 egg, 50 ml ice water, lightly beaten; 10-15 bird's eye chilies (to taste); 2 cloves garlic; 1/4 tsp salt; A pinch of sugar and bouillon powder; 3 tbsp Nabati Cermelang cooking oil (for sizzlin

Published November 14, 2025

Quick 30 Minutes

Serves 2 Servings

Difficulty Medium

Scroll for full method, ingredients, and chef’s notes.

Ingredients

What you need

Gather everything first for a smoother cooking flow.

2 pieces chicken breast fillet (or thigh)
500 ml Nabati Cermelang cooking oil (for deep fry)
Marinade: 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
Dry Batter: 150 gr all-purpose flour, 50 gr cornstarch, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder, 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Batter: 1 egg, 50 ml ice water, lightly beaten
10-15 bird's eye chilies (to taste)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt
A pinch of sugar and bouillon powder
3 tbsp Nabati Cermelang cooking oil (for sizzlin

Method

Step-by-step

1
Coat the chicken with the marinade (garlic powder, salt, pepper). Let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
2
Prepare the Dry Batter in a large bowl and the Wet Batter in a separate bowl.
3
Heat the Nabati Cermelang cooking oil in a deep pot/wok over medium heat. The oil must be plentiful and hot.
4
Take a piece of chicken, dredge it in the Dry Batter, pressing lightly.
5
Quickly dip it into the Wet Batter, coating it evenly.
6
Dredge it back into the Dry Batter. This time, pinch and squeeze the chicken to build up a thick, curly, crispy coating.
7
Immediately place the chicken in the hot oil (ensure it's submerged). Fry until beautifully golden brown and cooked through. Remove and drain.
8
Making the Sambal: In a mortar (cobek), coarsely grind the bird's eye chilies, garlic, salt, sugar, and bouillon powder.
9
In a small pan, heat 3 tbsp of Nabati Cermelang cooking oil until it is extremely hot and smoking.
10
Pour the sizzling hot oil directly over the sambal in the mortar. Stir well with a spoon.
11
Place the crispy fried chicken on top of the sambal. Use the pestle (ulekan) to "geprek" or smash/press the chicken until it breaks apart and mixes with the sambal.
12
Serve immediately with warm steamed rice

Chef’s Notes

Tips & extra guidance

Ayam Geprek is a modern culinary phenomenon that exploded from Yogyakarta and is now adored across Indonesia. The concept is simple yet brilliant: a crispy, savory fried chicken (ayam goreng tepung) is smashed ("geprek") in a mortar, then mixed directly with a spicy, raw garlic chili sambal. The sensation of the "kriuk" (crunchy) texture from the batter, the juicy chicken meat, and the fiery burst of the sambal is an addictive experience.

This recipe highlights two vital roles of high-quality cooking oil. The first and primary function is as a deep-frying medium for the chicken. To achieve that perfectly curly and crispy flour coating, the chicken must be fried in a large volume of stable, hot Nabati Cermelang oil. The hot oil instantly "locks" the batter, creating an immediate crisp texture without allowing the chicken to absorb excess grease. If the oil isn't hot enough, the chicken will turn soggy and fail to crisp up.

The second crucial function is in the sambal. The key to a delicious geprek sambal lies in the "sizzling" hot oil drizzle. Nabati Cermelang oil is heated until it's smoking, then poured over the raw ground chilies and garlic. This process "cooks" the sambal instantly, releasing the fragrant aromas of the garlic and chili, while eliminating any unpleasant "langu" (raw/grassy) taste. This hot oil also acts as a flavor solvent, carrying the spicy and savory notes of the sambal to coat every shred of the smashed chicken.

This dish is a perfect example of where cooking oil not only cooks, but also acts as a texture-creator and an aroma-activator. Ayam Geprek is proof that the right frying technique and the use of hot oil on a sambal are the keys to transforming a simple dish into an extraordinarily popular and beloved meal.