So I finally made Rawon myself! I had to go to the wet market to get my buah keluak. Remember that poisonous Indonesian nut that if not properly processed is deadly? Well, the east way out for me is to get from the stall owner ready processed ones! 🙂
These are the nuts (in the plastic bags hanging). The black stuff which is like gold to the Malays or Peranakans are inside. I’m not sure if the ones sold in markets in this form are ready to use. These are the black nuts. I bought from the stall owner for only two dollars (SGD) and it was enough for one pot. It’s definitely an acquired taste but the Malays/Javanese blend this fine to make the Rawon dish. So the base is this dish is blended onions, dried chillies, garlic, ginger, coriander powder, fennel powder, cumin powder and the black nuts. Blend till very fine. In a pot or in my case, a pressure cooker, cook the blended paste till the oil rises. The smell coming out from this paste is amazing! It’s the black buah keluak nuts! Add lemon grass and a couple of kaffir lime leaves while cooking this paste. Slow and steady cooking first. Beef cubes and beef trimmings. I used 500g of beef cubes and about 200 g or less of beef trimmings. Coat and fry for a few minutes. Add water and pressure cook for about 30min till meat is tender. When the meat is tender, add about 2tbsp of tamarind pulp, and salt to taste. Add long beans. And it’s ready to be served! The accompaniments are paru or fried marinated beef lungs, and bergedil, potato patties. Of course, sambal belacan! A piquant sambal made with fresh ready chillies and fermented shrimp paste.
Loves eating...too much.
Pottering about in my kitchen is a joy.
Loves culture and different cuisines; loves buying food books and trying them out.
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The Occasional Cook 