la gastronomie

Ayam Buah Keluak

30 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment

by Jedidiah in Local Fare, Nonya Nonya

It’s a Rite to Womanhood.

It’s like the first time I made pineapple tarts from scratch all by myself in a lonely kitchen in Arizona.

You know that you are grown up when you make this all by yourself, without the watchful eye of the matriach.

I remember the sacred days of watching my mother or my grandaunts slave in the kitchen to make our “tok panjang” (long table) or special ocassion feasts happen. As a child, I could only watch. It wasn’t until I was older that I was allowed to participate, and even then, my contribution to making this dish was limited to stuffing the nuts with the mixture. There were no recipe books, no small notes that held the proportions. Everything was done by memory (ah, that’s me being romantic); or rather “aga-ration” (the art of approximation). haha..

Ah. Sacred, indeed. There’s MAGIC in the smell of the rempah frying in the oil, the inescapable humidity of the kitchen, the unforgettable heat of the unrelenting blazing Singapore sun of the afternoon hours..

Today, I crossed the threshold.
Perhaps one day soon, I’ll interest Joshua and Ariel in Buah Keluak nut stuffing too..

Ingredients :
1kg Buah Keluak, soaked, washed and shelled
600g minced pork
salt and sugar

10 pcs chicken thigh

Rempah
4 medium sized onions
3 cloves garlic
4 tbsp tumeric powder
4 tbsp lemon grass powder
3 tbsp galangal powder
6 pcs buah keras
10 pcs big red chillis
3 tbsp belachan

4 tbsp assam, wrung through with 4 cups of water

To Do :
1. Wash, soak and shell the buah keluak. Separate shell from flesh.
2. Combine minced pork with buah keluak flesh.
3. Add salt and sugar to taste.
4. Stuff mixture back into shell.

5. Blend all ingredients in the rempah.

6. Heat 2 tbsp oil.
7. Add rempah, fry till fragrant.
8. Add chicken, cook well.
9. Add assam water, buah keluak, salt and sugar to taste.
10. Serve when ready. *

* I prefer to keep it overnight before serving.