Does anybody have some good photos?
It's a beanish- looking 'vegetable' commonly found in Malay/Nonya/southern Thai cuisine.
Tribolite? Myanmarbound? Somsai?
Unbelievably Cambodians don't know it. I've never seen it at markets or stalls. When I describe it nothing registers.
I would like to show them the tree it grows on, the flower, and the beans, if possible peeled and still in the snake- like pods.
henningwessel
1
tribolite
Google for "Parkia speciosa" and Wiki will provide photos and brief discription of the tree and beans as known as "stink beans".
An acquired taste but very popular in SE Asia whole roasted over hot charcoal or the shelled beans stir fried with prawn paste(balacan),tamarind paste,palm sugar/brown sugar,chilli paste/flakes and tiny dried anchovies,diced shallots and garlic.
Often served with "nasi lemak"(coconut cream flavoured steamed rice) and absolutely delicious.
The beans are often eaten raw or after toasting without sauce or spices as a health food as they are considered to have lots of antioxidants and other nutrients which are considered helpful for those with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
The beans are usually collected by the "orang asli" or indigenous tribal people from very tall trees in the forest.
Also planted as shade tree to provide dappled shade for coco shrubs in plantations.
6
henningwessel
And show I did.
My colleagues recognised it immediately. It seems to be a typical countryside snack, not available in markets in town. There seem to be two kinds here, kanthomthet touch and kanthomthet thom. Small and large petai.
They are eaten fresh or roasted, nobody knew whether they were eaten cooked (as Tribolite described petai with sambal belacan).
7
tribolite
The petai fried in chilli and balacan,dried shrimp(or even tiny anchovoes) is more common in South Thailand,Malaysia,Singapore and,Indonesia compared to Cambodia,Vietnam,Laos and Mynmar.
Apart from the two types of petai mentioned by #6 there is a third miniture species which appears to be grown as roadside shade trees and vacant land in towns around Malaysia,Thailand and Indonesia.
These bean like minature flattish petai pods with tiny seeds are often consumed raw or roasted by locals as folk medicine (jamu) which they believe helps to reduce blood sugar and blood pressure for those suffering these ailments.The taste is similar to the two larger species.
Pro tip
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