If you enjoy spicy food, Indonesia offers a wide variety of extremely hot dishes. However, I found one meal to be the most hot of all of them. Many people suggested that I try Ayam Bakar Taliwang, a type of Indonesian grilled chicken dish, while I was in Jakarta, saying that “since you love spicy food, you’re going to love it.” I’m going to tell you about it below because it ended up being a fowl encounter that changed my life.
Describe Ayam Taliwang.
Let’s begin with a brief synopsis of Ayam Taliwang’s roots and history.
The availability of Indonesian cuisine from all throughout the nation is one of the nicest aspects about travelling to Jakarta. The island of Lombok, which is east of Bali, is where Ayam Taliwang first appeared. However, I’m happy that Jakarta also offers it.
Ayam Taliwang has a somewhat contentious history on who invented the dish, although there isn’t much history published about it (at least in English). However, a guy by the name of Abdul Hamid claims to have created the dish in 1970.
Small free-range (known as ayam kampung in Indonesia) or spring chickens are used to make ayam taliwang, which can be deep-fried or grilled. Crazy amounts of garlic and chillies are required ingredients for Ayam Taliwang, in addition to the chicken itself.
Rinjani Ayam Taliwang
I found Ayam Taliwang Rinjani after researching Ayam Taliwang restaurants in Jakarta. Based on the ambiance and the pictures of the chillies piled on top of the grilled chicken, I knew I had to try this place. My wife and I hopped into an Uber from the Veranda Hotel in Jakarta, and we were dumped off in front of Ayam Taliwang Rinjani. The fragrance of charcoal-grilled chicken hit me right away.
The restaurant had an open-air, partially indoor layout and resembled a garage, with the chicken being cooked outdoors. The weather was ideal for enjoying grilled chicken. A glass cabinet containing what looked to be partly roasted birds stood in front of the restaurant.
The cook would take one of the chickens out of the cupboard, coat it with the preferred sauce, and place it on the charcoal grill as soon as a customer placed an order. As a result, you didn’t have to wait long for your grilled chicken to cook and it was hot and fresh.
Menu
Even though the entire menu was in Bahasa Indonesia, it was quite simple to use, particularly if you knew a few of the terms. Ayam goreng (fried chicken) or ayam bakar (grilled chicken) are your options. Everything was grilled for my wife and me. The primary ayam bakar Taliwang, the super extra pedas (super extra spicy), and the manis (sweet variant) are among the sauces you can then select for your chicken. Each of them was ordered.
Ayam Bakar Taliwang
The first grilled chicken I sampled was their speciality dish, ayam bakar Taliwang (I believe this was ayam bakar plecing). I was astounded by the flavours and spiciness of the chicken as soon as I bit into it. It was one of those chickens that released more and more chicken flavour with each mouthful, and the chicken itself was amazing, little chewy but juicy all at once.
But what really made it amazing was the chilli sauce glaze in addition to the delicious grilled chicken. Along with being hot and salty, it also had a little fresh sourness from the lime squeeze that was on the plate.
It was one of the nicest drumsticks I have ever eaten, and I finished it in a single bite.
Super Extras Pedas Ayam Bakar
I didn’t even order it at first. However, I knew I had to get whatever it was that had sambal chilli after noticing the pan of it next to the grill and realising my first grilled chicken didn’t have any of it. As the man on the grill put it, it was the ayam bakar super extra pedas, or the super extra spicy grilled chicken.
The chicken was initially dipped in the sambal before being grilled, and I believe the sambal was almost entirely made up of chillies, garlic, salt, and oil. As it was being made, you could smell the aroma of those grilled garlic and chillies. I knew my taste buds were in for a treat when the chicken arrived at my table covered with a centimetre of pureed chillies. It ended up being a memorable moment of grilled chicken. It was one of those things that you can’t stop eating until you’re done because it was so incredibly spicy.
The other common ayam, Taliwang, was nearly as spicy as it appeared, even though it was quite spicy. This one, however, tasted more like pure garlic and chillies and was a bit harsher. It was just incredible, and since I ate it, I’ve been fantasising about this Indonesian dish because I’m a spicy foodie.
The Delightful Grilled Chicken
Last but not least, if you’re not a huge fan of spicy food, Ayam Taliwang Rinjani also serves sweet grilled chicken, which we ordered to sample. The sweet variant has the flavour of sweet barbecue sauce with a hint of acidity. Excellent as well.
Plecing Kangkung
Plecing kangkung, a salad prepared with water morning glory, is another well-known Lombok delicacy. Along with beansprouts, the water morning glory was first blanched. It was then plated with some fried peanuts and garnished with tomato sauce and a chunky, garlicky prawn paste that tasted like Thai nam prik kapi. The juxtaposition of the salty shrimpy topping and the crisp, fresh water morning glories was amazing. Additionally, it complemented the fiery grilled chicken to perfection.
Final Thoughts
Lombok is the origin of the Indonesian grilled chicken dish known as Ayam Bakar Taliwang. I chose to visit Ayam Taliwang Rinjani, a restaurant in Jakarta that is well-known for its incredibly hot Ayam Taliwang, even though I wasn’t in Lombok. The grilled chicken was incredibly tasty and incredibly hot. This Indonesian recipe is a game-changer when it comes to grilled chicken if you enjoy it and, like me, you’re crazy about chillies.
