Home > Ayam Taliwang (Taliwang Spicy Grilled Chicken)

Ayam Taliwang (Taliwang Spicy Grilled Chicken)

Posting Date: 01/30/17

Ayam Taliwang (Taliwang Spicy Grilled Chicken) originated from Lombok, an island in Indonesia located east of Bali island. It was created in 1970 by H. Abdul Hamid. The name Taliwang came from Karang Taliwang, the area where he lived in Lombok. Ayam Taliwang is very spicy because it is made with a lot of chili peppers. It is considered as main dish and served with rice.

For this recipe, I have toned down the spiciness to mild. Instead of using fresh red chili pepper, I use sambal oelek. This is because it is sometimes difficult to find red chili pepper in my Asian stores. I use Huy Fong brand for sambal oelek since they don't add shrimp paste or garlic to it and thus, I got the chili pepper I need without any other flavors I don't want. If you like it hot, you can use more chili pepper or sambal oelek. Traditionally, the dish is made using whole chicken parts but for this recipe I use chicken wings or drumsticks. You can use chicken breast if you prefer white meat. If you want to make it finger food, you can use chicken wings. To cook the chicken, I first saute the chicken with the chili paste until it absorbs the chili paste before partially cooking it by boiling it in the water with the chili paste. Once the water has been reduced, I bake it in the oven. To bake the chicken, I place cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. That way, the chicken will not be wet while being baked. This will make the chicken crispier. I found some people may not like the earthy taste of terasi (shrimp paste). If you are 1 of these people or you cannot find terasi, you can substitute it with fish sauce.

The recipe serves 2 people.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 pieces chicken wing, about 1.5 lb. You can use 4 chicken drumsticks or chicken breasts.
For chili paste: 6 small size shallots or 2 big size shallots, quartered. It will be processed in food processor.
For chili paste: 4 cloves of garlic, halved. It will be processed in food processor.
For chili paste: 1 small tomato, diced. It will be processed in food processor.
For chili paste: 3 teaspoons sambal oelek or to taste. If you can find red chili pepper, you can use them instead of sambal oelek. You can use 2 red chili peppers or more or less depending on your tolerance to heat. If you don't like heat, you can remove the seeds and ribs before putting them in the food processor. Three teaspoons of sambal oelek results in mild. So, add more if you like it hot. I use Huy Fong brand for sambal oelek since they don't add shrimp paste or garlic to it and thus, I got the chili pepper I need without any other flavors I don't want.
For chili paste: 1 teaspoon terasi (shrimp paste). If you don't have terasi (shrimp paste), you can substitute it with fish sauce. I found that some people may not like terasi (shrimp paste) because of its earthy taste. If you are 1 of these people, you can skip the shrimp paste or substitute it with fish sauce.
For chili paste: 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
For chili paste: 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar or to taste
vegetable oil to grease the cooling rack
1 lime, cut into wedges

Methods:

Place fresh lime juice in a ziploc bag big enough to fit the chicken. Add salt in the bag. Move the lime juice around in the bag so that the salt is mixed with the juice. Add chicken into the bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag and close the bag. Move the juice around in the bag so that the chicken is coated with the juice. Let the chicken marinated in the fridge for half an hour.
While waiting for the chicken to marinate, put shallots, garlic, tomato, sambal oelek, terasi (shrimp paste) if used, salt, and turmeric powder in the food processor. If you use fish sauce instead of shrimp paste, do not put the fish sauce in the food processor. It will be added when you add water during cooking. Pulse the food processor until the chili paste becomes smooth.
Drain the chicken from the marinade.
Turn on the stove to medium high heat. Add vegetable oil to the pan. Heat up the oil. Add chili paste and saute it until it becomes fragrant and cooked. Add chicken into the pan. Saute the chicken and make sure it is coated with the chili paste and all sides become yellow from the turmeric powder. Once it is yellow, let it cook further for about 10-15 min to make sure it absorbs the spice paste. Add 1 cup of water, fish sauce (if you don't use shrimp paste), and palm sugar or brown sugar. Let the water boiling and let the the water reduced by at least 1/2. At this point the chicken should be half cooked. Turn off the stove.
Turn on the oven to 350 deg F. Move the oven rack to the middle.
Prepare baking sheet by placing Al foil on top of the baking sheet. This is for easy clean up. Place cooling rack on the baking sheet. Wet paper towel with vegetable oil. Wipe the cooling rack with the wet paper towel so that the rack is coated with oil. This will prevent the chicken from sticking to the cooling rack. Put the chicken on the cooling rack. Do not throw away the chili paste liquid. It will be used to baste the chicken.
Once the oven is at temperature, place the baking sheet with the chicken on it in the middle rack of the oven. Let the chicken bake on 1 side for about 15 min. After 15 min, take the baking sheet out and turn the chicken over so that the bottom one now faces up. Put the baking sheet back in the oven for another 15 min. After 15 min, check the chicken to make sure it is cooked through. If not, put it back in the oven. If it is cooked through, turn off the oven and turn on the boiler to high. Dip each chicken piece in the chili paste liquid, make sure it is coated with the chili paste liquid, and put the chicken back on the cooling rack of the baking sheet. Broil the chicken in the oven for about 1.5 min. Take the baking sheet out. Take 1 chicken piece, turn it over, dip it in the chili paste liquid, and put it back on the cooling rack of the baking sheet. Do this for all chicken pieces. Put the baking sheet back in the oven and broil it for about 1.5 min. Take the baking sheet out from the oven and turn off the oven.
Serve the chicken with lime wedges while it is still warm.

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