Ayam Bakar Recipe | Indonesian Grilled Chicken with Kecap Manis Glaze
Ayam Bakar (Indonesian Grilled Chicken)
Java's beloved grilled chicken, done the proper two-stage way: first braised (ungkep) in an aromatic spice paste until tender and deeply seasoned, then finished over fire with a sticky, caramelised kecap manis glaze. Sweet, smoky, and impossible to stop eating.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (1.5kg / 3¼ lb), cut into 8 pieces, or 8 bone-in thighs
- 6 shallots, peeled
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 candlenuts or macadamias (optional, for richness)
- 3cm piece fresh ginger
- 2cm piece fresh galangal (or 1 extra slice of ginger)
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 bay leaves (Indonesian salam leaves if you can find them)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar
- 400ml (1⅔ cups) water or coconut water
- 4 tablespoons sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
- 2 tablespoons Spice Island Sambal Goreng (or sambal oelek)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
- Steamed white rice
- Lalapan (cucumber, cabbage, tomato, lettuce)
- Sambal terasi or sambal oelek
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- 1
Blend or pound shallots, garlic, candlenuts, ginger, galangal, turmeric, and coriander into a smooth spice paste (bumbu), adding a splash of water if needed.
- 2
In a wide pot, combine the chicken, spice paste, bruised lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves, salt, palm sugar, and water. The liquid should come about halfway up the chicken.
- 3
Bring to a simmer, then cover and braise gently for 25-30 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has reduced to a thick coating.
- 4
Uncover and let the remaining liquid reduce until it clings to the chicken like a paste. Remove chicken and let it rest. This step (ungkep) is what makes ayam bakar taste seasoned to the bone.
- 5
Mix the glaze: kecap manis, sambal, lime juice, and melted butter. Stir in any reduced braising paste left in the pot.
- 6
Prepare your grill: charcoal at medium heat, a grill pan over medium-high, or an oven grill/broiler on high. Oil the grates well.
- 7
Brush the chicken generously with glaze and grill for 4-5 minutes per side, basting each time you turn, until charred at the edges and lacquered deep mahogany.
- 8
Watch closely in the final minutes - kecap manis caramelises fast and the line between burnished and burnt is about 30 seconds.
- 9
Give the chicken one final coat of glaze as it comes off the heat and rest for 3-4 minutes.
- 10
Serve with steamed rice, lalapan vegetables, sambal on the side, and lime wedges to squeeze over.
Nutrition Information
Chef's Tips
For best results, use authentic Indonesian sambal from Spice Island Indonesia. The quality of your sambal will significantly impact the final flavor of this dish.
Chef Yossie
Traditional Indonesian Recipe
Rate this recipe
Be the first to rate it
What You'll Need
Hard to find these outside Indonesia? These are the ingredients and tools that make this recipe authentic.
- Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)Sweet, thick Indonesian soy — key to nasi goreng & marinadesView on Amazon →
- Palm Sugar (gula jawa)Caramel depth for marinades and saucesView on Amazon →
- Galangal (dried or paste)Peppery, pine-like root — not the same as gingerView on Amazon →
- Lemongrass (fresh or paste)Bright aromatic base for spice pastesView on Amazon →
- Dried Kaffir Lime LeavesCitrus aromatics for fish and curriesView on Amazon →
- Cast Iron Grill PanFor ikan bakar and grilled meats indoorsView on Amazon →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links above are affiliate links — buying through them supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Interactive Cooking Guide
Master the braise-then-grill technique with step-by-step guidance from Chef Yossie
Blend or pound shallots, garlic, candlenuts, ginger, galangal, turmeric, and coriander into a smooth spice paste, adding a splash of water if needed.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
A blender is faster; a mortar gives a slightly deeper flavour because the aromatics bruise rather than chop.
In a wide pot, combine the chicken, spice paste, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves, salt, palm sugar, and water - liquid should come halfway up the chicken.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Arrange the chicken in a single layer so every piece braises evenly in the bumbu.
Bring to a simmer, cover, and braise gently for 25-30 minutes, turning once, until cooked through and the liquid is much reduced.
Chef's Tip:
Gentle simmer, never a boil - you're seasoning and tenderising, not stewing it to shreds.
Uncover and reduce the remaining liquid until it clings to the chicken like a paste. Remove the chicken and rest.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
That clinging paste is concentrated bumbu gold - scrape every bit of it into the glaze.
Mix the glaze: kecap manis, sambal, lime juice, melted butter, and any reduced braising paste from the pot.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Taste it - it should be sweet first, then hot, then sour. Adjust the sambal to your table's tolerance.
Prepare your grill: charcoal at medium heat, grill pan over medium-high, or oven broiler on high. Oil the grates well.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Medium heat is correct - the chicken is already cooked, so you're only charring and caramelising.
Brush the chicken generously with glaze and grill 4-5 minutes per side, basting each time you turn, until lacquered deep mahogany.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Layer the glaze like paint - three thin coats beat one thick one and give the signature lacquered look.
Important:
Kecap manis is sugar-rich and burns quickly. If it darkens too fast, move the chicken to a cooler part of the grill.
Watch closely in the final minutes - the line between burnished and burnt is about 30 seconds.
Chef's Tip:
Charred edges are authentic and delicious; blackened sugar all over is not. Trust your nose.
Give the chicken a final coat of glaze as it comes off the heat and rest for 3-4 minutes.
Chef's Tip:
The residual heat sets the last coat into a sticky, glossy finish.
Serve with steamed rice, lalapan vegetables, sambal on the side, and lime wedges.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Ayam bakar without lalapan and sambal is only half the meal - the fresh crunch and extra heat complete it.
Free download
The Indonesian Sambal Starter Guide
A free PDF covering the essential sambals, the pantry ingredients you actually need, and how to build authentic Indonesian flavour in a home kitchen. Sent straight to your inbox.
🛒 Perfect Ingredients for This Recipe
Recipe Match
Sambal Goreng
The aromatic sambal in this glaze — handmade in Lancashire from Chef Yossie's family recipe.
Recipe Match
Buy Sambal Online UK
Browse the full Spice Island Indonesia range and find the right sambal for your cooking.
👨🍳 More Delicious Sambal Recipes
Ikan Bakar (Indonesian Grilled Fish)
The seafood sibling — same fire, same glaze philosophy, quicker cook
Ayam Penyet (Smashed Fried Chicken)
East Java's other iconic chicken — fried crisp and smashed with sambal
Lalapan (Fresh Raw Vegetables)
The essential fresh accompaniment to anything bakar
Sambal BBQ Marinade
Take the same glaze thinking to burgers, ribs and prawns
📚 Learn More About Indonesian Cuisine
The Complete Guide to Indonesian Sambal Varieties
Which sambal belongs beside your ayam bakar - the full guide
Traditional Sambal Making
The stone-ground craft behind Indonesia's essential condiment
Indonesia's Answer to BBQ Chicken
Drive any road in Java after sunset and you'll smell ayam bakar before you see it: sweet kecap smoke rolling off roadside grills, chicken lacquered dark and glistening over coconut-shell charcoal. Every region claims its own version — Sundanese cooks lean sweet, Padang goes red and fierce, Lombok's Taliwang style is famously brutal — but the method is shared everywhere.
That method is the point. Ayam bakar is braised before it ever touches the grill, in a bumbu of shallots, garlic, candlenut and galangal, until the seasoning reaches the bone. The fire then does only the finishing work: char, smoke, and the caramel snap of kecap manis. It's why one bite of proper ayam bakar tastes seasoned all the way through, while most Western BBQ chicken tastes of its skin.
The Two-Stage Secret: Ungkep, Then Bakar
Stage 1: Ungkep (Braise)
- • Chicken simmers gently in spice paste and water
- • Seasoning penetrates to the bone
- • Meat turns tender and fully cooked
- • Liquid reduces to concentrated bumbu paste
- • Can be done a day ahead
Stage 2: Bakar (Grill)
- • Only 10 minutes over medium fire
- • Kecap manis glaze layered on in thin coats
- • Sugar caramelises to a mahogany lacquer
- • Smoke adds what no oven can
- • Charred edges, juicy centre — guaranteed