The market · Nuts and seeds · Southeast Asia
Candlenuts
Waxy, cream-coloured nuts pounded into Indonesian and Malaysian spice pastes to thicken and enrich them.
nutty · rich
What to do with it
JavaneseGudegYoung jackfruit simmered for hours in coconut milk and palm sugar until brown, sweet and tender, served with rice, chicken, egg and a hot stew of cow's skin.No one here has made it yetJavaneseRawonA beef soup turned black by keluak nuts, earthy and deep, served with rice, short bean sprouts, a salted egg and sambal.No one here has made it yetJavaneseSoto ayamA clear chicken broth, yellow with turmeric, poured over shredded chicken, glass noodles, bean sprouts and egg, with lime, sambal and fried shallots.No one here has made it yetJavaneseSate MaduraSmall skewers of chicken, glazed in kecap manis and grilled over charcoal, under a peanut sauce with lontong and raw shallot.No one here has made it yetSundanesePepes ikanFish rubbed with a yellow spice paste, wrapped in banana leaf with lemon basil, tomato and chilli, then steamed and grilled.No one here has made it yetSundaneseEmpal gentongBeef and offal stewed in a spiced coconut broth in a clay pot over a wood fire, with rice or lontong and dried chilli to sprinkle.No one here has made it yetBalineseBebek betutuA whole duck or chicken stuffed and smothered with base genep, wrapped and cooked slowly in embers until it falls apart.No one here has made it yetBalineseSate lilitMinced fish or pork mixed with grated coconut, base genep and lime leaf, pressed around lemongrass or flat bamboo and grilled.No one here has made it yetBalineseBase genepThe complete Balinese spice paste: shallot, garlic, four rhizomes, chilli, candlenut, shrimp paste and warm spices, ground together.No one here has made it yetMinahasanIkan wokuFish cooked in a yellow paste of turmeric, chilli and candlenut with a great handful of fresh leaves — lemon basil, lemongrass, pandan, lime leaf.No one here has made it yetMalaysianCurry laksaNoodles in a rich, spiced coconut curry broth, with tofu puffs, prawns, chicken, bean sprouts and a spoonful of sambal.No one here has made it yet
If you can't find it
Indonesian and Malaysian grocers, as kemiri or buah keras. Never eat them raw.
- 1MacadamiaPounded into a pasteThe same weightYou lose a touch of body; macadamias are a little sweeter.
- 2CashewThe same weight, rawYou lose some richness.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Southeast Asian grocers, as kemiri or buah keras.
- Worth knowing
- Never eat them raw — they're mildly toxic until cooked. Macadamias are the usual swap.
Kitchens that keep it in
Central and East Java, and Madura, IndonesiaJavaneseThe cooking of Indonesia's most populous island: sweet with palm sugar and kecap manis in the centre, saltier and hotter towards the east, with tempeh and tofu at nearly every meal.9 classicsBali, IndonesiaBalineseThe cooking of Hindu Bali: pork roasted whole, duck slow-cooked in spice, lawar chopped for the temple feast, and base genep, the paste behind nearly everything.9 classicsMalaysia — the Malay Peninsula and northern Borneo, between the Strait of Malacca and the South China SeaMalaysianMalay, Chinese, Indian and Peranakan cooking side by side: sambal, coconut and rice, wok-fried noodles and flaky roti, eaten at hawker stalls and mamak shops at all hours.10 classics
