Ayam Buah Keluak

Ingredients

Nuts

• 15buah keluak, properly fermented and sold ready for cooking

Chicken

• 1.2 kgchicken pieces on the bone

Rempah

• 12shallots
• 6 clovesgarlic
• 6dried red chillies, soaked
• 3fresh red chillies
• 3cm galangal
• 2cm fresh turmeric
• 3candlenuts
• 2 stalkslemongrass
• 1 tbspbelacan, toasted shrimp paste

Also

• 5 tbspoil
• 2 tbsptamarind paste in 400 ml water
• 1 tbsppalm sugar
• salt
• 1 tspsugar

To serve

• steamed rice
• and a small teaspoon for scooping the nuts

Directions

1. Wash and scrub the nuts thoroughly, then soak them in water for at least three days, changing the water daily. Shake each nut next to your ear: a good one sounds sloshy or feels heavy, and a dead one rattles or feels light.
2. Discard any that rattle, feel light, or smell sour or off when opened. The kernel inside should be soft, black and smell rich and earthy. Crack a hole in the flat side of each shell with a heavy pestle or the back of a cleaver. Aim to make a hole large enough to scoop from without shattering the shell entirely, since the shells are served in the dish.
3. Scoop out the black kernel with a small spoon or a skewer. Mash the scooped kernels with a little of the rempah, some minced chicken or prawn, salt and sugar. It takes time and it is why this is a special-occasion dish.
4. Pound or blend all the rempah ingredients into a smooth paste. Toast the belacan wrapped in foil first, for a minute or two each side, which transforms it from harsh to deeply savoury. Fry the rempah in oil over a medium heat for twenty to twenty-five minutes, stirring often.
5. Fry it until it darkens and the oil visibly separates and pools around the edges. That separation is called pecah minyak and it is the standard Peranakan signal that a rempah is ready.
6. Add the chicken pieces and turn them in the paste until coated. Add the tamarind water and bring it to a simmer. Simmer everything gently for forty-five minutes to an hour. Now the gravy, and what it should be. Let it reduce until it clings to the chicken rather than pooling.
7. Taste it: it should be sour from the tamarind, savoury, faintly sweet and with the earthy bitterness of the keluak coming through. Adjust with more tamarind, palm sugar or salt. The keluak flavour should be clearly present rather than buried. Serve it with steamed rice, and give everyone a small teaspoon or a satay stick.

Technique

• The raw nut is genuinely poisonous and must be bought already fermented.
• Shake each nut and discard any that rattles or feels light.
• It is considerably better made a day ahead.

Substitutions

• There is no substitute for buah keluak.
• Pork ribs in place of chicken, which is also traditional.

Variations

• Babi buah keluak, made with pork.
• With the kernel stirred into the gravy rather than refilled.
• Made with prawns as well as chicken.

History

The signature Peranakan dish; the toxic keluak nut must be buried and fermented for weeks before use.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ayam Buah Keluak?

Ayam Buah Keluak is a main from Singapore: chicken stewed with black nuts whose fermented kernels are scooped out and eaten. The signature Peranakan dish; the toxic keluak nut must be buried and fermented for weeks before use.

How long does Ayam Buah Keluak take to make?

Ayam Buah Keluak takes 1 hr plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Ayam Buah Keluak?

Yes, within limits. There is no substitute for buah keluak. Pork ribs in place of chicken, which is also traditional.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ayam Buah Keluak?

Add the chicken pieces and turn them in the paste until coated. Add the tamarind water and bring it to a simmer. Simmer everything gently for forty-five minutes to an hour. Now the gravy, and what it should be. Let it reduce until it clings to the chicken rather than pooling.