JOIN! 12 Weeks for $1

Malaysian-Style Grilled Lemon Grass Chicken (Ayam Percik)

4 Servings

1¾ hours

Made This Recipe? Write a Review.
Thank you for submitting your review! A member of our team is confirming the review meets our site's Community Guidelines. It will be posted on the site shortly.

In her kitchen in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, home cook Annie Zainal Abidin taught us her method for making ayam percik, or chicken seasoned with turmeric and lemon grass and finished with a subtly tangy-sweet but rich coconut sauce. We learned there are regional versions of the dish and, to boot, many ways to approach the cooking, including two-step methods such as sear-then-roast or simmer-then-fry. We were fans of Abidin’s simple, straightforward, one-step oven-only technique, so we adapted it for an outdoor grill. Cooking over flames imparts delicious charred, smoky notes to the bone-in chicken parts, which have been smeared with an aromatic paste. We reserve some of that paste for use as the foundation of the sauce that is served with the chicken. For convenience or if you’re not ready to grill after the chicken is seasoned and the sauce is made, the parts can be covered and refrigerated for a few hours, and the sauce can be cooled and refrigerated. Let the chicken stand at room temperature while you prepare the grill so it isn’t cold when it goes onto the grill, and give the sauce a couple extra minutes to rewarm while the chicken rests after cooking. Steamed jasmine rice is an excellent accompaniment.

4

Servings

Tip

Don’t use coconut milk, as it is too lean for this recipe. Make sure to purchase coconut cream, which contains more fat, but don’t mistakenly choose cream of coconut, which is sweetened and used mainly in cocktails.

1¾ hours

Ingredients

  • 2

    guajillo chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn into pieces

  • Boiling water, for soaking the chilies

Directions

Pardon the interruption

You need to be a Milk Street Digital Member to see the full recipe

JOIN MILK STREET DIGITAL & PRINT
12 WEEKS FOR JUST $1

and get access to all of our recipes and articles online, as well as in print.

GET DIGITAL & PRINT
How we use your email.

Your email address is required to identify your subscription. We will use it for customer service as well as other communications from Milk Street. We will not share, or rent your email address.

Reviews