Ayam Percik (Ayam Percik) — Malaysian Coconut-Glazed Grilled Chicken

• 4whole chicken legs (about 1.2 kg total, skin-on and bone-in)
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt
• 1 tspground turmeric
• 1 tbsplime juice
• 160 gpeeled shallots
• 4 clovegarlic
• 1 inchfresh ginger (peeled and sliced)
• 1 inchgalangal (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 1 inchfresh turmeric (peeled and sliced)
• 2 stalklemongrass (tender lower 10 cm only, thinly sliced)
• 12 gdried red chiles (soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and drained)
• 3candlenuts
• 80 mlwater
• 2 tbspneutral cooking oil
• 400 mlthick coconut milk
• 1 tbsptamarind paste
• 25 gpalm sugar (finely chopped)
• 1 tspground coriander
• 0.5 tspground white pepper
• 2banana leaves (rinsed and briefly passed over heat to soften)

Instructions

1. 1

   Pat the chicken legs very dry, then slash each leg 3 times through the skin and flesh down to the bone. Rub them with 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground turmeric, and 1 tbsp lime juice, making sure the seasoning reaches into the cuts.

2. 2

   Put the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, fresh turmeric, lemongrass, drained dried chiles, candlenuts, and 80 ml water into a blender. Blend to a smooth paste, stopping twice to scrape down the sides so the fibrous lemongrass and galangal are fully broken down.

3. 3

   Heat 2 tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry the spice paste for 8 minutes, stirring often, until it smells rounded and the oil begins to separate at the edges. Add the coconut milk, tamarind paste, palm sugar, ground coriander, white pepper, and 1 tsp salt, then simmer gently for 15 minutes until thick enough to coat a spoon.

4. 4

   Transfer 120 ml of the cooked coconut sauce to a bowl and cool it for 5 minutes, then rub it over the seasoned chicken as a marinade. Cover the chicken and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or for 8 hours for a deeper east-coast Malay flavor.

5. 5

   Prepare a charcoal grill for medium heat, about 180°C at grate level, and lightly oil the grate. Grill the chicken skin-side up for 12 minutes, turning once, so the meat begins cooking before the sugary coconut glaze is applied heavily.

6. 6

   Brush the chicken generously with the remaining coconut sauce and continue grilling for 22 to 28 minutes, turning and basting every 5 minutes. Move the chicken to a cooler part of the grill if the coconut sauce darkens too quickly, and cook until the thickest part reaches 74°C.

7. 7

   Rest the chicken on softened banana leaves for 8 minutes before serving. Spoon any remaining hot coconut sauce over the top so the finished ayam percik looks glossy, thickly coated, and lightly charred at the edges.