Candlenut, or buah keras, is used to thicken sauce. It has no identifiable flavor. Candlenuts look almost identical with macadamian nuts, which can be use as a substitute.
In Singapore and Malaysia, we ground this to a smooth paste in a mortar and blend this with other fresh ingredients like garlic, shallot, ginger, turmeric, chili or galangal.
Picture on left shows candlenuts being grounded. The final product is meant to be smoother than hummus.
I’ve not seen this sold in the local supermarkets but it can be purchased from Amazon.
