Like durians, you probably have to acquire a taste for petai beans. These flat, pungent and slightly bitter beans are cheap and readily available yet they are packed with valuable nutrients. Petai beans are also said to lower blood pressure and treat anaemia.

I have cooked this humble dish numerous times. The following pictures show petai with shrimp. It imparts its unique odour to your urine and sweat, but once you’ve tried petai beans, chances are, you’ll be asking for more.

First, fry some sliced onions in oil until they start to brown.

Next to go in, the petai beans. Stir fry and smell the “fragrance”.

Add prawns/shrimp next. For flavours, add one teaspoon of sambal and a dash of soya sauce.

This is what it should look like.

A beautiful, flavourful dish that goes very well with rice.

© Chan Joon Yee