Chicken Braised with Indonesia Black Nuts (Ayam Buah Keluak)

(From Y3K Recipes Issue No.5 – March/ April 2002)

Copyright of Y Three K Publisher. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:
10 pieces chicken meat ( from 1 chicken)
6 Indonesian black nuts/buah keluak (soak for 2 weeks)
100g fresh prawns
100g chicken meat
3 stalks lemon grass/ serai

Spices(Rempah) for blending:
30g dried chillies
2 cm turmeric root/ kunyit
1 cm galangal/ lengkuas
4 lemon grass/ serai
150g shallots
1/2 cm belachan
10g candle nuts/ buah keras

Seasoning:
Salt to taste

Assam Jawa solution:
Dissolve 1 ½ tbsps tamarind paste (Assam Jawa) in 250ml water and sieve.

Method:
1. Cut Indonesian black nuts (buah keluak) into halves. Extract the flesh. Blend together with fresh prawns, chicken meat and 1/2 tsp of salt. Stuff blended mixture into the empty shells of buah keluak.
2. Heat up 5 tbsps oil and saute the spices till aroma.
3. Add in assam Jawa solution and lemon grass. Bring to a boil.
4. Add in the pieces of chicken. Simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add in NO.(1) and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season to taste.

Hint:
The buah keluak are black nuts from Indonesia available from certain Malay stalls at the wet market.
Soak extra buah keluak (more than 30) incase some may have an unpleasant smell.