Wednesday 17 February 2016

Pork Belly Sambal with Stink Beans


This is another one of my late grandma's iconic dishes. The one that can make us eat two plates of rice. 

The thing about stink beans (petai) is you either love it or hate it. I used to hate it but now I love it. 

Some years ago, I was pleasantly surprised (in fact amused) to discover that my young nephew and niece also love petai. I would have thought that little kids would shun this smelly bean. 




Now, this bean, just like any other bean has a reputation of giving you gas. Loads of gas. The first time I cooked and ate petai, I produced enough gas to light up my neighborhood.

That evening, when I couldn't help but contribute to the global methane emission, my partner scampered to the furthest end of the sofa (obviously he couldn't get very far) to escape the noxious gasses. "Gawd!!! What did you eat???". Sorry for being gross. But that was a true story.

Then I learnt from my brother (the one who cooks) that you must soak the petai in water for about an hour before you cook it.

Ah! That's what we are advised to do before cooking any kind of beans to get rid of the chemical that induces the production of gas. Why didn't I think of that? So I wised up this time. Suffice to say, there was no calamity when I consumed my next serving of petai. All was quiet on the western front so to speak.



Now, another zinger about stink beans is their price. This 200g packet cost me RM13.75 at Aeon. So you can say that price wise, these stinkers can stand proudly amongst those beautiful berries at the supermarket aisles.

And one more thing. You will stink up the toilet after eating petai. And I'm not talking about your big business. The smell will be present in your urine in a short time after you eat the beans.



So if you are using a shared toilet, like in your office, be sure to open the windows wide after you have done your thing or else the next user might faint dead away.

Sorry. I'm being gross again. But this is stink beans and gross is an inherent nature of such topics.



If you are a fan of pork belly, sambal and petai, you will find this unholy trinity working their magic in this dish. Trust me, it's good. But please, soak the petai first.











Pork Belly Sambal with Stink Beans
Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :
- 1 strip pork belly, cut into 1 cm thickness
- 8 red chillies
- a big handful of shallots or two big onions, sliced
- 1 heap tablespoon of belacan, toasted
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste (asam jawa)
- 2 big onions, cut into rings
- 2 to 3 tbsp kayciap or sweet soya sauce
- 100g petai
- some water for simmering

Method :
1. Pound chillies, shallots and belacan until fine.
2. Heat oil in wok and saute the pounded ingredients until fragrant.
3. Add sliced pork belly and stir fry until the meat changes color. Add some water to simmer until the pork is tender.
4. Add tamarind paste and kayciap/sweet soya sauce. Stir and simmer for a short while.
5. Add petai and stir for about a minute or two and you are done!


40 comments:

  1. Good morning dear.. I don't fancy petai.. My MIL cooks petai+minced meat, sometimes petai with sambal sotong, I eat a spoon of gravy only, with some sotong, and my shee-shee (pee) got petai smell already! Imagine eating petai as well.. haha..But if you cook this for me, I'm willing to eat the sambal and pork belly with rice, minus the petai, thank you..

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    1. Hello dearie! I understand some people like yourself don't like petai. True lah, the smell very powerful one. Just a little bit pun will be detected in the shee-shee. That's why I only eat during weekend.

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  2. PH, mind if I ask how you managed to convert yourself from disliking petai to liking it? I still cant bring myself to eat petai.

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    1. hah..hah...It just happened, I don't know how :D

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  3. Petai must be cooked together with sambal or some spicy thing like otak-otak. There's just no other way to make them enjoyable :/ ...

    I used to dislike petai too, but now I'm... can't say I love them, but I can eat them. I'm indifferent to them now. :D

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    1. Exactly, on their own I won't be able to swallow them. They are best taken in small quantities.

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  4. Sighhhhhh!!!! Petai is so so so expensive these days. Anything they say is good for health, the price shoots up! :( That looks so good! Never tried with pork belly, must do so one day.

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    1. Yup, that's why I don't buy often. I also wanted to try petai fried rice but that would have to wait another day.

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  5. Yumz, I like this stinky beans with sambal.

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  6. With pork belly some more, must be very good.

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  7. Hi Phong Hong,
    Thanks for the detailed information for the aftermath of eating stinky beans. Well, I've tasted once many years ago but just a few pieces ... so not that "impactful" hee hee ! Don't fancy stinky beans .... though I like other types of beans like soy, kidney, broad beans etc.

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    1. Hi Karen! Yeah, for some people it is a no no hah..hah...

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  8. petai oh petai..... love them even more before long haul flights (gotta eat kau kau before the next trip home mar!!!) ..... try a cup of miso soup before u eat petai...might take away the windy end?

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    Replies
    1. Aiyo if during long haul flight the gas build up how ah? hee..hee...

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  9. I hate stink beans.....and I still do! ;D I'd rather part with my money for the beautiful berries ;)

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  10. WOW! I love to eat the Pork Belly, Petai and Sambal individually anytime. Now that you cooked them together, I could imagine it tasted heavenly nice. Please invite me!

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    Replies
    1. hee..hee..I knew you would love this stinky dish :D

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  11. little kids would shun this smelly bean?? wakakaka, so SK is also one little kid in the eye of this "global methane contributor" huh?? hahaha.. no no no, no thank you for petai at all!! so you know how that there are actually many stuffs that I don't put into my mouth or even wanna touch or go near them.. petai is one of them!!!

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    Replies
    1. You don't like spring onions and ladies fingers, so I can predict with 100% certainty that you won't like petai hah..hah...

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  12. I actually think they are not that bad while they are still in their skin?? okay, their skin isn't stinky but the beans are.. I can survive with the papan together in a room but not the beans.. and thanks for the tips on soaking the beans in water for an hour to remove their "power"!! haha.. I wonder if adding salt will do the trick better?? so it applies to all kinds of beans?? including those for tong sui??

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    1. My grandma used to sort of toast them in their papan over the kitchen stove and then remove the beans to be eaten with sambal belacan. I was a kid then and was not interested to try the toasted petai.

      I think all kinds of beans are best soaked first before cooking so that we don't produce gas after eating hee..hee...

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  13. okay, really no comment on your pork belly sambil with petai, because I am very definite that I will not eat this at all.. minus the petai, of course it would be so much better, I mean for me, and of course your partner who scampered to the furthest end of the sofa, hahahaha!!! anyway, looking forward to another version of this pork belly sambal with other kinds of beans~~ :p

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    1. This pork belly sambal can be cooked without petai and it will still taste very good :)

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  14. LOL to your gas!! Funny wor.. our mouth do not stink after eating like those in durians, burping after eating durians is real gas! Stinky beans is only stinky in the toilet.. pheww... yes, open all windows..but come to think of it, not so smelly as in durian burp.. and petai is healthier.. OK, Next time I must remember to soak the petai longer too... I normally soak for ten minutes...

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    Replies
    1. hee..hee.. I wonder what will happen if we eat durians and petai together? Will it be like nuclear fallout? LOL!

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  15. I love to eat petai since young but I don't get gas. I guess those petai that I ate must have been soaked in water before being cooked. Love your dish, can eat many bowls of rice but I will spat out all the fatty bits from the pork belly because I just don't like to eat fatty porky bits. If I ever cook this may change the pork belly to lean pork meat or minced lean pork.

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    Replies
    1. I'm surprised you like petai :) Yes, this can be cooked with leaner cuts of pork. But will be too dry for me hah..hah..

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    2. Why? I can even eat petai on its own raw but only one handful. I may not like strongly artificial flavoured food but I love to eat naturally fermented cheese, blue cheese, durian, stinky tofu, japanese natto, kimchi. Any other stinky food you can think of?

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    3. Because I gather that you prefer light or bland tasting food, so I thought petai would be too strong for you. I guess I was wrong :D

      Wow, you eat blue cheese! That, I surrender >.<

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  16. There was once I ate stink beans and I went to the toilet many times, they say if stink beans are not cleaned properly, there are worms inside, is it true?

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  17. Hi Phong Hong,
    I bought the petai for 200gm at only RM7.00 from the market near my house! Haha! Your dish looks so syiok. I cook sambal pork with petai too, but I use the pork shoulder meat which has some thin layers of fat but very meaty. My two kids love, love, petai so much. So usually there will be more rice in the rice cooker pot when petai is on the dinner menu! Your sambal rocks!

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    1. Hi Joyce! What? Only RM7.00? I should go to the market then hah..hah...

      This porky sambal dish sure makes us eat too much rice :D

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