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Candle Nuts


hummingbirdkiss

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I looked all over for a thread about candle nuts but could not find one ..so I just want to know anything you want to tell me about them please

I have several recipes including wanting to make some poke with them so a while ago I bought this good sized bag for like a buck! and seriously was going to pop one of these macadamia nut looking things in my mouth on the train home when I read the bag ....

"This is not a snack. Never eat raw. For cooking use only. May cause vomiting and purging if eat raw Call a physician immediately"

when I googled it I did find some info on how they can be used like a candle ..that is my avatar btw a burning candle nut...

so far lighting one ...thinking it was cool then taking a picture of it ...is all I have done with them and wondered what advice you would give me as to how you would prepare and eat these?

I have eaten them in Indonesian/Maylay food and would love to go in that direction so if anyone has a wonderful recipe to share I would be so grateful!

thanks in advance!

edited for geographical faux paux

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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. . . what advice you would give me as to how you would prepare and eat these?

In Malaysian and Indonesian cooking, candlenuts are used to thicken and flavor delectable spice pastes.

I have eaten them in Southeast Asian food and would love to go in that direction so if anyone has a wonderful recipe to share I would be so grateful!

Sounds like a good excuse to make beef rendang (click for recipe) or to run out and get Cradle of Flavor by James Oseland.

ETA: Oh, and I forgot about shrimp sambal (sambal udang) - pictorial recipe in my foodblog.

Edited by C. sapidus (log)
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hey hbk,

i'm also a great fan of these nuts, but have cut back on using them since I can't find any nutritional info on them (in terms of saturated fat)...I have a cholesterol problem.

anyway, i'm looking for an online recipe in English for you, I can only find Dutch ones (like this one), but my favorite thing to cook with candlenuts is called Ikan Bumbu (or Boemboe) Bali...basically malaysian fish curry. I'll post one a link if I find one....

mark

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  • 9 years later...

I have a recipe that calls for candlenuts and I can't find any.  The recipe calls for 2 candlenuts.  Having done some googling, it seems I can substitute macadamia nuts.  The recipe calls for 2 grated candlenuts.  However, 2 grated macadamia nuts doesn't look like much.  Would that be a correct substitution both for the type of nut and the amount?  The dish I want to make is Sajoer Lodeh.  Thanks for any help you can give me.

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13 hours ago, ElsieD said:

The dish I want to make is Sajoer Lodeh

 

?? 
D'you mean Sayur Lodeh?

You ought to be able to get candlenuts in a pan-Asian store --- surely there must be one in Ottawa? Ask for "buah keras" if the owners are Malay/Indonesian rather than Chinese...

Yes, I've read about macadamia nuts being used as a substitute - but have never done so, because I have access to candlenuts. Even when using buah keras (candlenuts) myself, I tend to ramp up the quantity called for in recipes, even if the idea is just to add a suggestion of "lemak" or creamy texture to the dish.

P.s. If you use coconut milk (and you should be, for sayur lodeh) it might be an idea to just add a bit more, in lieu of the candlenuts if you can't get them (or also skip the macadamia nuts).

 

ETA: It seems "Sajoer Lodeh' is the Dutch version/name. Are you looking to make the Dutch version or the Javanese version of the dish, if there is a difference (if any)? (The Malay version is pretty much like the Javanese version, I think, even if the dish varies with the cook and the vegetables available to the cook, across the various regions. It's another dish which does not have an ABSOLUTE invariable recipe) (But for myself, if it did not have cabbage and yard-long beans in it I would be reluctant to call it "sayur lodeh". :-) )

 

ETA2: @ElsieD, if you are in a Chinese-owned grocery and they don't know what "candlenuts" are, try showing them this name: 石栗 ("stone chestnut"). Then, if they have it, confirm by looking at the package. Most of the stuff in the USA (and, I'm assuming, Canada) would come from a few importers via Indonesia and they will have the English name on the package; or, "(buah) kemiri" on it.

Edited by huiray (log)
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12 minutes ago, huiray said:

 

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

The dish I want to make is Sajoer Lodeh

 

?? 
D'you mean Sayur Lodeh?

 

 

Sajoer Lodeh is the Dutch spelling.

 

As you well know, transliterations can take many forms: mei fun / mi fen, for example.

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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2 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Sajoer Lodeh is the Dutch spelling.

 

As you well know, transliterations take many forms. mei fun / mi fen, for example.

 

See my ETA note which I was composing as you posted.

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@ElsieD, try the Indian shops in Ottawa too. I've seen candlenuts in Indian shops also. (They're also called "Indian Walnuts", BTW). They're also called "kemiri" in parts of Indonesia. ("Buah keras" is more Malay (also Peranakan))

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4 hours ago, ElsieD said:

I have a recipe that calls for candlenuts and I can't find any.  The recipe calls for 2 candlenuts...

 

The one time I tracked around ethnic groceries to find candlenuts for a recipe, I thought the trek wasn't worth it. I couldn't tell that the candlenuts, also used in a small quantity, did anything special for the dish. The candlenuts are supposed to impart flavor and also thickening. I use macadamia nuts now. I've been told Brazil nuts are also a suitable substitute. Below, a link to a pic of candlenuts so you can judge their size and the proper amount of substitution. good luck!

http://www.gbif.org/species/113626788

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I have had both nuts and I think the candle nuts are a little larger than macadamia nuts.  I would use 3 macadamia nuts for 2 candle nuts.  Hope that helps without being able to source the candle nuts which will likely not be as fresh as any macadamia nut available.

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Thanks, everyone.  I wrote to the chef from whom I got the recipe and he said he has not had any luck finding candlenuts in this city, and we do have a number of Asian grocers.  I checked with the biggest one and they looked at me like I was asking for something from outer space.  I am in and out of these stores so will continue to check.  One thing I have learned is that they are usually kept frozen, I assume to keep them fresh.  Meanwhile, I will sub 3 macadamia nuts for the two candlenuts called for in the recipe.   The chef, BTW, imports his from the Netherlands.  If he wasn't an hour and 20 minutes away by car,  I'd go out and ask him for a couple. The ingredients called for in this recipe are:  sweet green pepper (an oxymoron if I ever heard one), eggplant, green beans, bamboo shoots, cabbage, onion, garlic, coriander, laos powder, the elusive candlenuts, shrimp paste, salt, water coconut milk.

Edited by ElsieD (log)
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