Prawn sambal with petai

I normally cook this dish using ready cooked sambal from my friendly nasi lemak seller. Today my Indonesian helper is teaching me how to cook it the Indonesian way which is not sweet.

 Petai beans are called bitter beans or twisted cluster beans but are commonly known as ‘stink beans’ (佩泰) in some cultures. They are harvested from the forest at the edge of the kampung (Malay village) from tall trees rising up to 90 feet high with long green pods dangling from the stalks. In Malaysia, petai beans are regarded as an antidote for kencing manis (diabetes). It is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, which is ideal for preventing high blood pressure and stroke. Other benefits of eating petai are to treat PMS (premenstrual syndrome), anaemia, depression, constipation and avoid vomiting and nausea in early pregnancy. It is good for reducing swelling and irritation of mosquito bites by rubbing the affected area with the inside of the petai skin.  The downside of eating petai is the strong stinking smell in the urine, sweat, burp and flatulence. 

Some people cook the petai whole but I find it safer to half the beans because sometimes there are worms inside and I don’t really want to have that extra flavour in my mouth.

Ingredients

10 Large prawns

Petai beans (amount depends on how much each person likes to eat)

Red chillies

Garlic

Shallots

Ginger

Buah keras (candlenuts)

Start by cleaning the prawns

Remove the heads and slit the back of the prawns

Remove the intestine

Trim off the legs

This is the chef today

Next is to prepare the chilli paste

Slit the chilli and remove the seeds if you don’t want it too pedas (hot)

Wash and cut the chilli into small pieces

Cut all the other ingredients into small pieces so that it is easier to blend

Put 100 mls water into the blender

Add the cut chilli first

Then add the other cut ingredients

Turn on the blender

The chilli paste is ready

Heat up some oil and pour the chilli paste into it

Fry on medium heat until it is fragrant and almost dry

Add the prawns and mix thoroughly

Add the petai when the prawns start to change colour

Add some water and salt to taste

Cover and simmer on low fire for 5 minutes

The prawns are ready to be served with plain white rice or nasi lemak

Next we prepare the children’s portion which is air fried prawns

Ingredients 

10 large prawns

Trim and clean the prawns

Season with salt and pepper

Add a little oil onto the prawns just before putting into the air fryer

Cook for 10 minutes.

Turn the prawns half way through the cooking process

Transfer to a serving platter once it is cooked.