Name: Ayam Percik (Kelantan Grilled Coconut Chicken)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 450 g Chicken Thigh, bone-in or boneless pieces; ¾ cup Coconut Milk, stirred smooth; ½ cup Shallots, roughly chopped; 3 clove Garlic, roughly chopped; 1 inch Ginger, sliced; 1 inch Galangal, sliced; 2 Lemongrass, tender lower parts sliced; 5 Dried Red Chili Peppers, soaked; ½ tsp Ground Turmeric; 3 Makrut Lime Leaves, torn; 1 tbsp Tamarind Paste; 1 tsp Palm Sugar, grated; 1 tbsp Cooking Oil; 1 tsp Salt, divided

Ayam Percik (Kelantan Grilled Coconut Chicken)

1 hr 30 mintotal

1 hr hands-on30 min hands-off

Prep 20 min · Cook 40 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Medium

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Method

Blend shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, soaked chilies, turmeric, and salt into a smooth paste.
Rub some of the paste over the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.
30 min
Heat oil in a pan and cook the remaining paste until aromatic.
Add coconut milk, makrut lime leaves, tamarind paste, palm sugar, and remaining salt. Simmer until thick enough to baste the chicken.
Grill or pan-grill the chicken, turning often and brushing with the coconut sauce.
Continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked and lightly charred at the edges.
Spoon extra warm coconut sauce over the chicken before serving.

How to tell it's done

The chicken should be juicy, fully cooked, lightly charred, and coated in thick coconut sauce.

Getting it right

Tip

Keep basting in thin layers; too much sauce at once can burn before the chicken cooks through.

What to serve it with

Serve with plain rice, nasi kerabu-style herbs, or cucumber slices.

Common mistakes

The chicken burns before it cooks through.: Grill it over moderate heat and start basting only in the second half. The coconut sauce carries palm sugar, which blackens quickly, so early basting gives charred skin over raw meat.
The sauce splits into oil and curds.: Simmer the coconut milk gently and stir. Boiled hard, it separates — some surfacing oil is wanted here, but a rolling boil takes it well past that.

Substitutions

If grilling is not possible, cook the chicken in a heavy pan and finish uncovered so the sauce thickens and clings.

Storing and reheating

The marinating chicken keeps a day in the fridge and freezes for two months in its paste. The coconut sauce keeps three days and reheats gently. Grilled chicken keeps two days; warm it wrapped in foil so it does not dry out.

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Ingredients