Indonesian-style roasted chicken (Ayam taliwang)

This is a recipe from the island of Lombok, off the coast of Bali. It is a very traditional recipe that beautifully brings together the islands' spice profile.

The spatchcocked chicken is brushed with a deep sambol sauce, one that is fiery and bold. When I first tasted the marinade, it was too spicy to use, so I diluted it a bit with pureed tomatoes to maintain the bright colour and calm the spices. The meat was brined oevrnight and the chicken turned out succulent and wonderful.

This is a beautiful dish to bring out to the table and carve; the bright colour is eye-catching. The spices are bold, and the side of sambo adds a pop that can be overwhelming if not careful. We loved the dish; the bold flavour beautifully highlights the island's vibrancy.

Eleanor Ford is a food writer and spice expert. Her latest cookbook, A Whisper of Cardamom, is a sweetly spiced companion book to The Nutmeg Trail. The Nutmeg Trail, published in 2022, has won and been shortlisted for a variety of international awards, including winning best ‘International or Regional Cookbook’ at The Guild of Food Writers Awards 2023 and two Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2023.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil

for the spice blend:

10 garlic cloves, sliced

3-5 large red chillies, de-seeded, membranes stripped and diced

2-3 dried red chillies, stemmed

2-3 Thai red chillies, stemmed

2 small tomatoes, diced

1 kaffir lime leaf

1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste

10 candlenuts, or hazelnuts

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

3 tablespoons Kikkoman soy sauce

Salt, to taste

water, as needed

1 (about 2.5 lb)whole chicken, skin-on

15 cups of water

1/4 cup of salt, mixed into the water until dissolved

Start by brining the chicken the night before. Immerse the chicken in the brine for at least 8 hours, but more is always better.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add all the spice blend ingredients except the oyster and soy sauces. Cook for 7-10 minutes until the chillies are soft andthe garlic is coloured. Cool completely. Blitz the cooked ingredients in a small blender with the oyster and soy sauces until smooth. You can add just enough water to get the ingredients to spin in the blender and puree well.

Add the pureed paste into a smal pot and cook for about 30 minutes until the paste is well fried and the oils have released to the surface in pools. The paste should be very aromatic. taste for salt, it should be quite salty to compensate for the chicken.

Remove the backbone of the chicken by cutting along the back with scissors. remove the backbone. Wash the chicken well, and flatten the breast by pressing it down. Using your fingers, work the skin off the mat along the breast, thigh, and other parts of the chicken. Use half the marinade to cover the chicken between the skin and the meat, and a bit for the outside on both sides. Marinate the spiced chicken for at least 6 hours so the flavours have time to penetrate the meat.

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Lay the chicken, breast side up, on a baking sheet and roast for 30-35 minutes. Check that the juices flowing from the chicken are clear. Sit for 4 minutes, tented.

Serve with the oils from the roasting poured over the chicken, the remaining spice blen on the side, and Malay parathas on the side.