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Ayam Percik (Kelantan Grilled Chicken with Coconut Gravy)

Ayam Percik (Kelantan Grilled Chicken with Coconut Gravy) reads richness 5.0, sweetness 4.8 and allium 4.4 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Malaysian main, about 3 hr 41 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 4.4 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 5.4 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 4.6 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.4 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 6.0 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 5.1 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.0 · Sweetness 4.8 · Allium 4.4 · Salinity 4.0 · Sourness 3.6 · Citrus 3.4 · Nutty 3.3 · Umami 3.2 · Herbaceous 2.8 · Warm Spice 2.4 · Earthy 2.0 · Fruity 2.0 · Heat 1.9 · Floral 1.6 · Bitterness 1.4 · Smoke 0.9

What's in it (13)

• chicken — 100 g
• dried red chillies — 75 g
• shallots — 200 g
• garlic — 30 g
• fresh ginger — 40 g
• galangal root — 40 g
• lemongrass — 120 g
• turmeric — 20 g
• coconut milk — 460 g
• tamarind juice — 44 g
• brown sugar — 25 g
• salt — 10 g
• kaffir lime leaves — 3 g

Time & effort: about 3 hr 41 min (1 hr 31 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 126.9 kcal, 3.4 g protein, 9.3 g fat, 9.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. Blend the soaked chillies, shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass and turmeric to a fine paste with 4 tbsp of the coconut milk.
2. Rub a quarter of the paste and 1 tsp of the salt into the chicken, working it into every slash, and marinate at least 2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
3. Put the remaining paste in a saucepan with the rest of the coconut milk, the tamarind water, palm sugar, kaffir lime leaves and remaining salt. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring, and cook 25 to 30 minutes over low heat until it thickens to a pourable gravy the consistency of double cream and the colour deepens to burnt orange. Stir often; boiled coconut milk splits.
4. Set up a charcoal grill for medium indirect heat, or heat the oven to 200 C with a rack over a tray. Percik means to splash or spray, and the dish is defined by the basting rather than by the marinade.
5. Grill the chicken skin side up over indirect heat for 20 minutes, then start basting with the gravy every 5 minutes, turning the bird every 10, for a further 30 to 40 minutes. Each coat should dry onto the last so the surface builds into a lacquered, patchily charred crust. If you baste all at once you steam the chicken instead.
6. The chicken is done when a thigh reads 75 C and the juices at the joint run clear, about 55 to 60 minutes in total. Let it rest 10 minutes.
7. Warm the remaining gravy through and serve it poured over the carved chicken, with nasi kerabu or plain rice. The gravy should be sweet, sour, coconut-rich and only mildly hot; Kelantanese cooking runs sweeter than the rest of peninsular Malaysia and that is not an error.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Coconut Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry — Indian
• Chickpea and Butternut Squash Curry — Indian
• Mchuzi wa Samaki (Swahili Fish Curry) — Swahili Coast
• Skillet Chickpea and Spinach Curry — Indian
• Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew — West African

Keep reading: what richness, sweetness, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.