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Shrimps (Prawns) Sambal with Petai (Stinky Beans) | BIG Bites MY

Shrimps (Prawns) Sambal with Petai (Stinky Beans)

Petai (direct translation from our local Chinese name for it is Stinky Beans) is a South East Asia favorite. It's call Stinky Beans because of its strong, pungent smell.

If you are not a fan of petai, you may leave it out. Or if you live somewhere where petai is not available fresh, I have see Malaysian living overseas posting pictures of canned petai in brine (from Yeo's), available at their local Asian grocers.

Shrimp Sambal is one of my favorite shrimp dishes. Add petai to it and the sambal gets even better!

This dish takes longer to prepare because preparing the sambal paste is time consuming. If you are lazy, you may cheat with store-bought sambal pastes, but making your own is always tastier!

It's hard to only make a little sambal paste, so I have made a little extra. I used half of the sambal paste for this recipe, and the rest I have frozen for future use.

I just love having this with a plate of hot rice! Totally awesome!


Watch video for step-by-step method of preparation

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD

Prep time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serving: 1 (increase portions accordingly if you are cooking for more)

Ingredients:

  • Part 1: Sambal paste (makes 2 portions)
    • 4 large fresh red chilies
    • 15 dried chilies
    • 6 Thai chilies
    • 1 teaspoon toasted shrimp paste (belacan)
    • 5g (1cm) turmeric
    • 5g galangal
    • 10g (1 thumb-sized) ginger
    • 3 shallots
    • 5 pips garlic
    • 3 candlenuts (buah keras)
    • 1 lemongrass
    • 2 tablespoons (30ml) water
  • 8 medium-sized shrimps
  • 1 large onion
  • 40g petai (stinky beans)
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 lime (juiced)
  • 8 tablespoons (120ml) water

Method:

  1. Part 1: Sambal paste
    • Cut off tops of dried chilies. Rub and squeeze to deseed (Deseeding: optional). Rinse dried chilies and soak in hot water to soften. After dried chilies have soften, drain and cut into 1cm lengths
    • Snip Thai chilies into 0.5cm lengths. Place Thai chilies into a small colander. Cover and shake to deseed (Deseeding: optional)
    • Split large red chilies into halves. Deseed and cut into 0.5cm length (Deseeding: optional)
    • Cut shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, candlenuts and turmeric into smaller pieces
    • Place all sambal ingredients into the blender and blend until you get a smooth paste consistency
  2. Petai (stinky beans):
    • Split petai into halves, check the insides and discard the imperfect ones
  3. Slice large onion into rings
  4. Shrimps:
    • Shell on:
      • Snip off the sharp pointed tip right above the tail
      • Snip off the jaggered pointed part on the head and the eyes
      • Snip off the whiskers and all the legs
      • Cut the shell along the spine with scissors. And then use a knife and slit along the spine. Devein (remove digestive track).
    • Shell off:
      • I prefer my shrimps with the shell off for this recipe. Remove head and shell. Slit along the spine and devein.
  5. Heat oil over MEDIUM LOW heat
  6. Saute sambal paste until aromatic
  7. Add petai and 2 tablespoons (30ml) of water. Simmer for a while.
  8. Add lime juice and salt
  9. Add onions and 4 tablespoons (60ml) of water. Simmer for a while.
  10. Taste and flavour to your liking
  11. Add half the sugar and stir to combine
  12. Taste again. Adjust the sweet and sour levels to your liking
  13. Add in the rest of the sugar if needed
  14. When you are happy with the taste, add in shrimps
  15. Cook for about 2 minutes until the shrimps curl up. Do not overcook the shrimps because it will turn hard and rubbery.
  16. Add another 1 tablespoon of water. Cook for another half a minute and it’s ready to be served.  

Notes:

  • If you do not like petai (stinky beans) or it’s not available where you are, it’s fine. You can use this recipe to make a Sambal Shrimp dish. You can also replace shrimps with squid or fish.  
  • Making the sambal paste is time consuming. And it’s not easy to make just a little. The sambal paste portions in this recipe is enough for 2-3 separate dishes. I froze the extra for future use.
  • You may cheat with store bought sambal paste if you are lazy but homemade ones are definitely tastier
  • Candlenut is to thicken the sambal paste and it gives it a richer texture / taste. If it's not available where you are, you can replace it with macadamia nuts. 
  • Galangal is in the same family as ginger and turmeric. It has a pinkish tint. It is a lot harder in texture. Don't add too much because it can be overpowering.
  • I have added water in batches when cooking this dish. If you add all the water in one go, you'll find it harder to control because you will end up with one soupy dish in the wok. So best let it simmer and as the gravy gradually dries up during simmering, add more water. Use your own judgement and depending on how wet you want the dish to be, the amount of water used varies



Galangal, ginger, turmeric


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