There are many types of Ayam Goreng and I hardly stick to a fixed recipe, apart from being consistent with a few basics behind a good fried chicken Malay style.

This latest recipe is quickly becoming one of my favourite for its simplicity and great results.

I have been making it as a side dish with Nasi Ulam, a recipe which I will be blogging soon.

I have always been curious about the "crispies" that I see on the Ayam Goreng which is served in Malay stalls in Malaysia. After some conversations with makciks (they are always friendly and willing to share their tips...some will even let me see who they cook them in their kitchens!) I finally figured out that it came from blended or pounded ginger. The blended ginger sticks to the chicken when fried and adds texture and flavour.

Just remember that ginger is acidic and if you marinate the chicken with it for too long, the meat will be mushy. I don't marinate it for more than an hour.

This dish is easy enough. Use a nice tasting ginger, preferably old ginger from Indonesia or Malaysia, fresh turmeric and galangal (blue ginger). Galangal is optional but it does enhance the dish. Turmeric is essential.

I should add that ginger is known to have many health benefits. Information from this link is useful.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cut into ten pieces.
a piece of old ginger of about 6 inches in length
a thumb piece of turmeric
a piece of galangal, 2-inch long
2 tsp of salt
1 tsp sugar
2 Tablespoon of corn flour

1. Blend or pound the gingers.
2. Add salt, sugar and corn flour and mix. Marinate the chicken between 30 mins to an hour  
3. Heat up the oil in a wok or deep pan. The oil is ready for deep-frying when you your hand can feel the heat when you place your hand about a six-inches above it. Or if you drop in small piece of flour and see bubbling, it is ready. The oil should not be smoking and there should always be bubbling as you fry. Just remember these two simple tips for deep frying. 
4. Deep fry the chicken pieces for 6-8 minutes, turning or moving them around occasionally to prevent spot burning. 
5. Using  a strainer, picked up the fried ginger strips or floss. There are delicious when fried. Deep fry the remainder ginger pastes in the marinade. Use the floss to garnish the dish.

There you go. It is not difficult. You can also add spices like coriander, fennel and cumin powder to the marinate if you wish. Or some chilli powder. More ingredients in the marinade just adds to the different flavours. I sometimes omit the spices. You can choose to salt the chicken earlier before adding the ginger paste. You can also vary the type of chicken, i.e. use the "French bare-neck" or "kampung" variety. Experiment. You can hardly go wrong with Ayam Goreng.

Click here another recipe for Ayam Goreng which uses more ingredients. But as I have said elsewhere, more is not necessary better.