You won’t find an ayam golek recipe like this on the webisphere. This recipe for Malaysian ayam golek features an aromatic spiced chicken baked in a delicious cumin infused coconut marinade. Much like our other Malaysian dishes, I’ve adapted this family favorite and turned it into a low fodmap chicken recipe.
This chicken dish is a recipe that has been in my family for many moons and has been passed down from one generation to the next. And today, I’m sharing it with you and showing you how to make ayam golek just like my Mom would. But before we get into the good stuff, let’s have a look at a few important points in this post like:
Grab a cup of tea, plop yourself down someplace comfy and kick your feet up as I tell you the story behind this resepi ayam golek.
The Story Behind Ayam Golek
If you search ‘ayam golek’ online, you probably get one or two results and *gasp* no Wiki page. Honestly, all I got were search results for roast chicken KL.
So, for today, I will be your unofficial translator: ‘ayam’ means chicken and ‘golek’ means different things depending on who you ask. And I asked plenty of people why on earth ‘golek’ meaning Malay differs. But in Kuala Lumpur -the capital city of Malaysia- golek means shake. In Kedah -a northern state- it means something else.
You must have many questions (as did I). This chicken dish is not very well known even among Malays for a few reasons. Which is why this little story and all information regarding the origins of this dish has boiled down to a phone call with my mother. If you’ve got any questions or complaints, please take it up with her.
According to my mother, ayam golek is a royal dish in Kedah. ‘Golek‘ in Kedahan vernacular means to ‘turn.’ Because ovens were not a thing in rural Malaysia, people created makeshift rotisseries outdoor to cook chicken.
A chicken would be skewered through a long sugar cane (used as a rod) and that chicken would be cooked over a charcoal flame. So, if you were wandering, “Why would this chicken be shaking?” there you have it. It’s actually turning on a rotisserie.
A Special Occasion
This chicken was reserved for special events only. Take a wedding for instance: this would be the Main dish but only for the bride and groom. Growing up, we only ate this meal for Eid Al-Fitr or in Malay, ‘Hari Raya’. In the Netherlands, it’s called ‘suiker feest,’ or, ‘sugar fest/party,’ the festivities celebrated after Ramadan (fasting month).
I have only seen this recipe in my household and that of my extended family. Because Malaysians eyeball everything, this recipe differs based on the person that made it. All of my aunts make this very differently. One even makes it with duck instead of chicken!
When I think of low fodmap chicken recipes, ayam golek is not the first thing that comes to mind. Especially since the original recipe is not IBS-friendly.
The Original Recipe
This recipe has been adapted and made into a low fodmap dinner. Something that might just lead to my crucification if my Malaysian relatives ever heard. I can already hear the chorus of, “You can’t make Malaysian food without onion or garlic.”
Yes, you can! The original recipe calls for an obscene amount of onion and garlic as the base of the spice paste. This variation gives you the same results without any onions or garlic and only uses ginger, galangal, and lemongrass as a base.
If you want to make this Malaysian bbq chicken but you’re worried about FODMAPs, let me ease your worries with a little section called, ‘Coconuts and FODMAPs.”
Coconuts And FODMAPs
If you’re on a low fodmap diet, coconut products can be a bit tricky to navigate because some are deemed safe and others aren’t. This dish utilizes coconut cream, which has not officially been tested by Monash but here’s what they’ve recommended.
Coconut milk and cream are both made from the white flesh of a mature coconut. The flesh is ground with water and presto! You have coconut juice? Not quite. As this coconut juice settles, it begins to separate to a higher-fat content cream and the lower-fat content liquid is coconut milk.
Monash’s recommendations are as follows when it comes to coconut based liquids:
- Coconut milk is low FODMAP at 125ml (1/2 cup) serves. They are considered high FODMAP at 250ml (1 cup) serving sizes.
- Canned coconut milk is low FODMAP 1/4 cup servings. Exceed 1/2 cup or more and it will contain moderate to high levels of sorbitol.
This meal serves 5-6 and stays well within the serving size per person. Huzzah! If you’re looking for more, ibs chicken recipes, give these dishes a try:
Low Fodmap Slow Cooker Chicken
Low Fodmap Thai Chicken Noodles
3 Ingredient Low Fodmap Chicken Broth
We have one more thing to cover before we get into the recipe and that’s how to prepare the lemongrass for this recipe.
How To Prepare Lemongrass
One of the key ingredients for this low fodmap chicken recipe is lemongrass and I’ve begun to notice quite a few anomalies to the preparation of lemongrass in my general environment. This is why I’ve included a section dedicated to properly preparing lemongrass.
If you’re not familiar with the ingredients like lemongrass and galangal, or you’re looking for a quick trick to peeling ginger, have a look at this post where we discuss that and more. But back to the matter at hand, lemongrass: the entire thing isn’t edible.
The tops, ends, and outer layers of these fragrant stalks are fibrous and not pleasant to eat. First, start by removing the ends. Peel the first few outer layers and then chop off the tops. Cut your lemongrass into small pieces and set aside.
In the spirit of our, “waste not, want not,” philosophy, we are going to use those inedible outer layers. Place them on top of each other and tie them into a knot. We’ll use this lemongrass knot to add more flavor into the dish as a whole.
Finally, onto the main event: how to make ayam golek! I’m golekking my hips at the thought of this meal. Without further adieu, let’s get into it.
How To Make Ayam Golek
Our low fodmap chicken recipe starts with the chicken, of course. My mother uses a whole chicken (and sometimes a frozen whole chicken Malaysia style) but I find that rather tedious and the cooking process takes longer. So, as is tradition with this recipe, I’ve deviated from her version and used chicken pieces. These chicken pieces are rubbed with salt, ground cumin and coriander while we prepare the cumin and spice infused coconut marinade.
Note: we have reintroduced garlic into our diets as we are able to tolerate it and used 3 small cloves in the base.
The coconut marinade or sauce starts with a fragrant spice base. Chop the ginger, lemongrass, and galangal and blend until smooth. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a large pot and cook off the aromatic spice paste for 5 minutes. Add the ground cumin and coriander to the spice mix and stir to combine.
After 30 seconds or so, add the coconut cream, followed by water. This mixture needs to cook for 15-20 minutes for it to reduce. Once it looks like this (at the 15-20 mark):
Add your chicken pieces into the pan and let them cook in the liquid for 3-5 minutes. This process allows the chicken to soak up the flavors. The flesh should set slightly, turning from pink to white.
Remove the chicken from the liquid and place them in a baking tray. Cook the sauce for an additional 5 minutes or until the oil separates from the mixture:
Now that we’ve covered how to make the main components of this chicken dish, we can now move on to baking and serving this meal.
Baking The Chicken
I should mention that this dish also includes potatoes and boiled eggs. Most of my European family members think the boiled egg is a peculiar addition but it’s tradition and I have a lot of fun eating all the eggs.
The potatoes are peeled and added to the baking tray with the chicken. The eggs are boiled, peeled and added to the roasting tray whole. Now to put the ‘roast’ in this Malaysian roast chicken recipe by roasting the chicken in a 180c/356f oven for 30 minutes. I mean look at that!
It’s ready to serve as is or on top of a bed of fluffy white rice.
I’m happy to share this ayam golek recipe with you because the mere thought of this dish brings me utter joy. Why not give this recipe a shot for Christmas or if you’re looking for a new roast chicken recipe to spice up your life? And if not, then you’ve walked away from this blog post with a new low fodmap chicken marinade to jazz any chicken dish up.
Have you heard of ayam golek before? What’s a chicken dish you or your family make for special occasions? Share it below in the comments!
More gluten free dinner recipes with chicken:
Low FODMAP Slow Cooker Chicken
Low FODMAP Thai Chicken Noodles
3 Ingredient Low FODMAP Chicken Broth
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