eewwwwwwww

Petai or in its Scientific name Parkia speciosa a.k.a the stinky beans has a lot to offer, besides being an ingredient in many dishes especially 'sambals' or stir fried. Petai is also known as peteh, yongchaak or sataw (sator). It can also be eaten raw or pickled.

It is bears long, flat edible bean with green coloured seeds and the shape of almonds. When the seeds are still in the pod, it does not gives out any odor but when peeled, the seeds have a strong and perculiar smell...stinky I would say.

The after-effect taste and smell lingers in the mouth and body up to about two days (yikes!) after comsumption. Petai contains certain amino acids that give a strong smell to ones urine.

But little did we know that Petai has alot more to offer. Petai contains three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose. When combined with fibre petai can give an instant and substantial boost of energy ....Wow! Besides keeping us fit, it can also help to overcome or prevent a number of illnesses and conditions (insyaAllah with God's willing and grace) ...for example - depression, anemia, PMS, blood pressure, constipation, heatburn, morning sickness, overweight and ulcers among others. Therefore, petai can actually act as a natural remedy.


Let me share with you, my very own sambal udang petai recipe.

Ingredients:

500gms of dried chillies - soaked and cleaned
3 big onions
2 cloves of garlic
1" grilled belcahan (belachan bakar)
20gm of asam jawa (tamarind) - squeeze the juice
1 tsp salt
2tbsp sugar
1kg medium size prawn - cleaned
1 bunch of peeled petai seeds
2tbsp oil

How to cook:

Blend dried chillies, big onions, garlic and grilled belachan together. Heat oil in wok and fry till fragrant and a little dry. Add tamarind juice, prawn and fry for 5minutes. Then add petai, salt and sugar. Cook well and taste accordingly. If you prefer spicy, just add chilli padi (small chilli) in the blend. Enjoy with rice....

Warning! Petai memang best! Tapi tolong lepas korang makan jangan cakap banyak-banyak, kalau nak cakap juga tolong jauh-jauh. Huuuuh! Bau dia...nyamuk pun boleh mati. Tak payah pasang ubat nyamuk!