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Ayam Buah Keras is one of the trickiest Peranakan dishes to perfect. Either it turns out flavourful, with just the right level of spiciness, or it doesn’t. For many years, my mum has been getting it well-done. We just don’t know why it isn’t the same these days – until recently – with many of us still encouraged to stay home/put/safe due to the present situation.

The following conversation ensued:

Mum: Eh, we should try again lah the Ayam Buah Keras.

Me: Nanti kalau tak sedap, I don’t know ah? [If it’s not nice, don’t blame me.]

Mum: Try again, this time, use smaller pieces of chicken.

Well, we were pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted, with just the right level of spiciness for us. You have to be a Peranakan from Melaka to know this dish like the back of your hand. Influenced by my maternal grandmother’s Peranakan in-laws, my mother is able to cook a few of the dishes, which are otherwise almost exclusive to the typical Peranakan household.

Candlenuts have roughly the same texture and taste as macadamia nuts.

AYAM BUAH KERAS

You’ll need:-

• Chicken pieces – 14 (rough estimate)
• Candlenuts/ buah keras – 10
• Shallots/small onions/bawang merah kecil – 12
• Fresh chilli/Cili hidup -2
• Dried shrimp paste/Belacan – a bit
• Bird’s eye chilli/Cili padi – 5
• Tomato [with skin removed] (optional) -1
• Salt – to taste

STEPS

1. Pound chilli till fine (My mother would always drum into my head “Cili tumbuk mesti halus, tak halus, tak sedaplah”). Add small onions, candlenuts, and belacan. You may choose to add tomato to thicken the paste/mixture. Then add ¾ teaspoon salt (The type of salt would also influence the taste of the dish).

2. Marinate chicken pieces with the pounded paste/mixture, keep refrigerated for 1-2 hours.

3. Place chicken in saucepan (medium heat). Stir till quite dry. If it’s too dry, you may add some water to prevent the chicken from getting burnt.

4. Heat up wok/kuali. Add 4 tbsp oil. Fry chicken till quite dry.

There were many attempts which didn’t turn out as well as we expected. One mistake was to grind the chilli. This is why I always trust the batu lesung/pestle and mortar. Better yet if you can get your hands on the batu giling. The finer your chilli is, the better.

On several occasions, we were ambitious – chicken pieces were too big.

The most important bit is the type of cili padi you have access to. In our most recent attempt, we got some Thai Cili Padi Kampung, which provided us with the desired level of spiciness.

You definitely want to make sure the paste is well-cooked. You don’t want all that pounding to go to waste!

Until then, happy cracking those candlenuts!