Ngapi Nut

ngapi nut the edible ‘nut’ of a leguminous tree of SE Asia, Pithecellobium lobatum, commonly eaten in Burma (where its name indicates that it smells like the Burmese fermented fish paste, ngapi) and Indonesia. The wine-red young shoots and the flowers are also eaten.

The ‘nuts’, which are seeds borne in large pods, are served as a side dish in Java. Their offensive smell is dispelled when they are cooked. A popular treatment is to cook ripe seeds and then pound them into flat cakes which are sun-dried, fried, sprinkled with salt, and served as one of the side dishes called emping (see gnetum).