I am filing this one in my ever-enlarging "Why?" file. As in, "Why in the world would someone do this?" You know you have one of these files, too. There is just so much that defies rational explanation. Sometimes the inexplicable is heart-breaking and sometimes it's just stupid. This is the latter...
The Buah Keluak nut is produced by the Kepayang tree, found in Indonesia and Malaysia. The nut or fruit of this tree, and the tree itself, is highly toxic. However, it is used in Peranakan cooking, in dishes such as Ayam Buah Kelauk (braised chicken flavored with turmeric, galangal and lemongrass cooked with Indonesian black nuts). The chef at True Blue Cooking in Singapore says that the nut must be buried under volcano ash for 100 days, then soaked in water for 3 more days before it is detoxified and safe to eat. He also says that the most important part of preparing the Buah Keluak nut is sniffing it before cooking it. Because, although it has been buried and soaked, it can remain poisonous, and you can tell by sniffing it, thus saving the day (and the diner).
I am not surprised at anything people cook or eat. I have seen the Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern eat everything, including soup made with deer penis, so I realize the world is full of food other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. What I can't figure out is why anyone wanted to eat the Buah Keluak nut in the first place, once they realized that it was toxic. Did they do it because it was toxic? And who in the world decided that burying it in volcano ash for 100 days would detoxify it?
You just have to shake your head and wonder...Why?
