| Ayam geprek | |
| Country: | Indonesia[1] |
| Region: | Yogyakarta |
| Creator: | Ruminah from Yogyakarta[2] |
| National Cuisine: | Indonesia |
| Course: | Main course |
| Served: | Hot |
| Main Ingredient: | fried chicken served with sambal |
Ayam geprek (Javanese: ꦥꦶꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦒꦼꦥꦿꦺꦏ꧀|Pitik geprèk, 'crushed chicken') is an Indonesian crispy battered fried chicken crushed and mixed with hot and spicy sambal.[3] Currently ayam geprek is commonly found in Indonesia and neighbouring countries, however its origin was from Yogyakarta in Java.[2]
Geprek is the Javanese term for "crushed" or "smashed", thus ayam geprek means "crushed chicken".[4] It is quite similar to the traditional East Javanese ayam penyet, as both are fried chicken that are smashed and mixed together with hot and spicy sambal chili paste. The difference is that ayam penyet is a type of traditional Javanese ayam goreng that is half-cooked in bumbu kuning (yellow spice paste) before being deep fried in hot palm oil, while ayam geprek is more akin to Western-style (American) fried chicken that is coated with batter and popularly known as ayam goreng tepung (battered fried chicken) in Indonesia.[4]
Ayam geprek gain its popularity across Indonesia in 2017 with numbers of outlets sprung in most of Indonesian cities. Its origin however, believed was from Yogyakarta, from the creation of Mrs. Ruminah or popularly known as Bu Rum. In 2003, Bu Rum's customer requested her ayam goreng tepung (battered fried chicken) to be smashed and topped with sambal chili paste.[2] Subsequently this smashed spicy crispy fried chicken has gain wider popularity, as numbers of restaurants copied the recipe.
Another source argued, that the current popularity of ayam geprek was initiated by local fast food chain Quick Chicken, that launched their product called "American Penyet" in 2013. Bedi Zubaedi, founder and CEO of Quick Chicken claimed that before the ayam geprek was as popular, they had made an identical dish named "American Penyet". This menu is a blend of Western style fried chicken served in Indonesian penyet method mixed with sambal bajak.[1]
Ayam geprek is commonly served with sambal chili paste, however today its new variants might be served with additional mozzarella cheese toppings and kol goreng (fried cabbage).[3]