For all you Peranakan food fans, this recipe photo essay is one read you must not miss out on.

Why?

Because it comes from no other than Guan Hoe Soon Restaurant in Joo Chiat Road. These folks have officially been in the Peranakan food business for the last 45 years! Unofficially, they have selling their ayam buah keluak to the Japanese since Singapore was Syonan-to.

The following dish is presented by Raymond Au-Yong, chef extraordinaire at Guan Hoe Soon (meaning, he has honed the agar-agar technique of Peranakan cooking to an art form). His food has been presented on the dining tables of the bigwig corporate towkays in Singapore as well as senior cabinet ministers ( who da-pau more often than not).
Raymond's recipe today is a no bars hold revelation. He has been dishing this, the way he is showing it, for the last 15 years.

This ayam buah keluak dish serves 10 people.

INGREDIENTS:
One whole chicken
10 buah keluak nuts
assam (tamarind) water - about 1.5 litres depending on sourness preferred
3 large onions
3 stalks of lemongrass
4 pcs small yellow ginger (tumeric)
5 pcs of candlenuts (buah keras)
a few slices of blue ginger (to taste preference)
a tablespoon of belachan
6-8 fresh red chilli
5 tablespoon sugar
5tablespoon salt

 

Stuffing the buah keluak nut:

Soak the nuts for at least a day in water with assam skin (acts as a cleaning agent, according to Raymond) and scrub clean. Slice the tip off the open end of the nut. Scoop the black paste out and mix it with minced chicken and prawns. Blend some fish paste (raw fishball meat) into it as it holds the mixture together during cooking. Now stuff the buah keluak meat paste back into the empty nut shells. Note: you may prefer to cook the nut without any stuffing, for a "heavier" buah keluak taste.

Making the "rempah":

Pound or blend the highlighted ingredients till it is a paste. Fry it with oil (about 6-10 tablespoons) over medium fire for no more than 5 minutes.

Cooking Method:

Cut the chicken into pieces that are not too small (as they may break up during the marinating and re-heating process). Fry it in the rempah together with the stuffed buah keluak nut. Add assam water, sugar and salt to desired taste.

Here's Raymond's secret:

Store the dish over night in the fridge before serving. That way, when you reheat the next day, the marinate would have gone into the meat and nut more completely.

Guan Hoe Soon Restaurant is located at 214 Joo Chiat Road and is open for lunch and dinner except on Tuesdays.

You can reserve your table by calling 3442761.

Photos and story by kf seetoh

Where:	Guan Hoe Soon 214 Joo Chiat Road Tel 3442761
Food Rating:	Excellent
Cold Crab Rating:	Die Die Must Try!