A very common ingredient in Malay and Indonesian cooking, candlenuts are often ground and used to thicken and enrich curries and stews.
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What are Candlenuts?
Candlenuts are known as Buah Keras in Malay and Kemiri in Indonesian. They are a very common thickening agent in Malay, Indonesian, Nyonya and Eurasian cooking. They are more often than not, used in curries and sambals to enrich the flavour as well as the texture.
You must always cook candlenuts before consumption because they are slightly toxic when raw.
Candlenuts are also known as kukui nuts in Hawaii. Toasted kukui nuts are crushed and made into a dry garnish called inamona, a traditional topping for the classic Hawaiian Poke, which is a dish of raw tuna.
Candlenut Substitute
- Macadamia Nuts (the perfect substitute)
- a smaller amount of cashew nuts, which are much creamier.
is buah keras and buah keluak the same?
which is toxic?
Hi Mano, they’re 2 different things. This one here, buah keras, is mildly toxic if eaten raw.
Buah keluak is the one that’s pretty toxic and is buried for a few weeks to get rid of the hydrogen cyanide before being sold.
I have a small write up of it in this recipe on my other blog: https://www.singaporeanmalaysianrecipes.com/ayam-buak-keluak/