Spicy Stir-Fry of Petai and Shrimp Thai-Style (ผัดเผ็ดสะตอกุ้ง): The Dish That Might Melt a Thai Girl's Heart

This spicy stir-fry of sataw¹ and shrimp is one of the most well-known dishes from the South of Thailand. Warning: this is not for the faint of heart. It is hot. It is bitter. It has a unique pungent, um, smell. Without a doubt, sataw is an acquired taste.

Southern Thai cuisine is known for the kind of heat that makes Dante's inferno feel like Alaska in the winter. Its liberal use of all kinds of extremely bitter berries, nuts, beans, and greens local to the humid South makes the southern cuisine intimidating even to some native Thais such as myself. (Born and raised in Bangkok, I am more familiar with the central cuisine which is much milder.) So the idea of non-Thais enjoying this type of dish surprises me -- in a pleasant way. Though I can only speak for myself, my hunch is that most Thais look upon gastronomically adventurous and informed non-Thais with the level of admiration that is in direct proportion to the level of their disdain for those who are so quick to say "eew."

By the way, did you know that quite a few Thai restaurants in the US have two menus: a regular menu for customers in general and a secret menu for native Thais and those who ask for it with a knowing wink? The regular menu contains, oh, the usual suspects: Pad Thai, Pad Khi Mao, Tom Yam, mango and coconut sticky rice, etc. The secret menu, on the other hand, features things that only those who know what they're doing are able to handle. If anyone is interested, I have written about it on my article on CNNGo titled: Secret Thai Menus No Longer So Secret.

The secret menu doesn't always exist in physical form, mind you; sometimes it exists in immaterial form. That means there's an unspoken understanding that if you know enough to ask your server to heavily modify the regular menu items to suit your taste, they often, if not always, honor your requests. In fact once you've done that, you're automatically considered one of the privileged few. It's like an underground cult with a secret handshake. In order to join, you have to first know that it exists and fearlessly make known your desire to be part of the Beyond Pad Thai Movement (members of this movement have been known to sport this cool t-shirt solely for the sake of confusing people).

The reason I brought this up is this: every time I see non-Thais ordering from the secret menu and eating those dishes with gusto, I inexplicably develop a sense of camaraderie and admiration for them. I have a feeling I'm not the only Thai who feels this way.

Sure, that whole dragon-slaying business and all that jazz is impressive. A degree from Harvard is nice. Being fluent in five languages is definitely a plus. But nothing thrills a worthy Thai lady like a man who is not afraid of regional Thai cuisine -- something to keep in mind if you happen to have a special someone whom you've been eying. There's something delightful and captivating about people who are not afraid to venture out of their comfort zone once in a while, especially in the realm of gastronomy. It shows open-mindedness. It shows acceptance and tolerance. It shows adaptability. In some way, it even shows humility. And these things are incredibly attractive.

Gentlemen, you may not know this. When you gallantly ask for the secret menu upon arrival at the restaurant as if it was something you've done a thousand times, we swoon inside. As you chew on that whole piece of bird chilli and your face turns as red as a fire hydrant, we think you're the most adorable thing. As smoke visibly comes pluming out of your ears and the veins on your forehead visibly throb, our heart melts a little. As you look at us with your red, glistening eyes and muster a smile decorated with a ceaseless stream of snot, we're practically putty in your hands.

Maybe.

Spicy Stir-fry of Sataw (Petai) and Shrimp: A Dish So Beyond Pad Thai. Ceaseless Stream of Snot Gauranteed
(Makes two servings as a rice topper)
Printable Version

1 cup fresh or frozen Sataw, quartered
1/2 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
3 fresh red Thai bird chillis or 2 small red serrano chillis
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
A couple of kaffir lime leaves, optional

• ^{In a small food processor or chopper (if you have a set of mortar and pestle, use that), blend together the shrimp paste, chillis, and garlic until you get a coarse paste.}
• ^{Heat up the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the chilli paste to the oil. Saute until the mixture is toasty and fragrant.}
• ^{Add sataw to the pan and saute for a minute.}
• ^{Add the shrimp and the remaining ingredients; saute just until the shrimp is cooked through. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp. Once it turns opaque, remove the pan from the heat.}
• ^{Serve over rice. This is a dish that is not meant to be eaten without rice.}

¹ Or to transliterate it the formal way: Sa To (the second syllable rhymes with "raw").