This crispy Garlic Fried Chicken, known as Ayam Goreng Bawang Putih, was a viral sensation in Indonesia and Malaysia. A savory dish that can be snacked on or enjoyed as the main course.
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It’s so interesting how fried chicken is a category of its own, with multiple different flavors and textures that can be achieved. For Day 10 of my Ramadan 2023 Series, here’s another one for you to add on to your existing recipe list — garlic fried chicken.
Crispy Garlic Fried Chicken
At one point last year, garlic fried chicken went viral within the Indonesian and Malaysian TikTok sphere. It was everywhere! So after a few of those videos came across my feed, you can say I was influenced. I had to give my own spin to it.
After quite a few trials, I’ve nailed it down. Now it’s one of my favorite fried chicken recipes ever! And every single person that’s tried this with me have loved it.
Ayam Goreng Bawang Putih Viral
In Malay, garlic fried chicken translates to “ayam goreng bawang putih”. And calling all garlic lovers, this is just the recipe for you.
The chicken is first marinated in a batter that consists of blended aromatics (like garlic and shallots) and seasonings (curry powder and chili powder). Then it’s fried in oil until it’s halfway cooked before smashed garlic cloves are added for even more flavor.
The secret to a crispy coating on the chicken is the potato starch that’s added to the batter. Not to forget, if you use the double fry method, it’ll become extra crispy!
ingredients you’ll need
(For full ingredient measurements, please proceed to the recipe card below.)
- Chicken wings
- Garlic, separated into cloves
Batter
- Garlic
- Shallot or Small onion
- Water
- Curry powder
- Chili powder
- Salt
- Sugar
- Potato starch
how to make garlic fried chicken (ayam goreng bawang putih)
- Blend garlic and shallot/onion with a 1/4 cup of water to form a paste. Add to a bowl with the chicken. Add the rest of the batter ingredients and the remaining water and mix well until everything is coated.
- Gently smash some garlic cloves of 1 head of garlic with the skin still on and set aside for later.
- In a pan over medium heat, heat up enough oil to fry the chicken. Once hot enough, add the chicken wings (making sure you coat it with the batter as much as your can) into the hot oil.
- Once it’s halfway cooked, add the smashed garlic and let it finish cooking. Cook the chicken by batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Remove the chicken with the garlic cloves and let the oil drain on a cooling rack.
- Optional step: Remove the chicken from the oil for 1-2 minutes and then double fry at a slightly higher temperature for 1 minute to make it extra crispy.
- Serve with the garlic cloves. Enjoy!
notes for garlic fried chicken (ayam goreng bawang putih)
- Smash garlic before frying: You need to gently smash the garlic cloves before frying for some steam to release otherwise the garlic will “explode” while frying.
- Chicken parts: I used chicken wings for this but you can also use other parts of the chicken.
- Fried garlic cloves: Frying the garlic cloves infuses the chicken and oil with flavor but I also like eating the fried garlic together with the chicken but this is optional.
More Chicken Recipes
- Soy Sauce Chicken (Ayam Masak Kicap)
- Fried Turmeric Chicken (Ayam Goreng Kunyit)
- Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) – No Mirin or Sake
- Crispy Chicken 65
- Soy Garlic Wings (Air Fry/Oven bake)
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Garlic Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng Bawang Putih)
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken wings
- 1 head of garlic separated into cloves
Batter
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot or 1/2 or 1 small onion
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup potato starch
Instructions
- Blend garlic and shallot/onion with a 1/4 cup of water to form a paste. Add to a bowl with the chicken. Add the rest of the batter ingredients and the remaining water and mix well until everything is coated.
- Gently smash some garlic cloves of 1 head of garlic with the skin still on and set aside for later.
- In a pan over medium heat, heat up enough oil to fry the chicken. Once hot enough, add the chicken wings (making sure you coat it with the batter as much as your can) into the hot oil.
- Once it's halfway cooked, add the smashed garlic and let it finish cooking. Cook the chicken by batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. Remove the chicken with the garlic cloves and let the oil drain on a cooling rack.
- Optional step: Remove the chicken from the oil for 1-2 minutes and then double fry at a slightly higher temperature for 1 minute to make it extra crispy.
- Serve with the garlic cloves. Enjoy!
Hello – Looks great! Air fryer instructions please?
These wings turned out super delicious! I air-fried them instead of deep frying but they still turned out wonderous 😋
Hello… is there an alternative to potato starch?
I am wondering the same thing who has potato starch LOL? But I have cornstarch!
Yes! You can substitute with cornstarch 🙂
You can use cornstarch 🙂
…just the immersion in the garlic and shallot infused liquid had me convinced. Instead of using 100% water to make the garlic paste/slurry I used 50% fish sauce.
After double frying, 300d then 350d, these came out of the fryerwonderfully crisp. They were darker than in the photo above. This is just to note, not complain or critique.
Great, great flavor!!