PAIRP

Jering

Archidendron jiringa · Legume

Jering, better known as jengkol or "dogfruit" (Archidendron jiringa), is the thick, disc-shaped seed of a tall Southeast Asian rainforest tree, borne in dark, glossy, spirally coiled pods that ripen to near-black. Shelled from the pod, each chestnut-brown seed is firm and starchy, and carries an intense, garlicky, sulphurous pungency even stronger than that of its sibling petai — a smell that clings to the breath and, notoriously, the urine for many hours after eating. Far from off-putting, that aggressive aroma is prized across Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand and Myanmar, where jering is boiled and pounded into curries, deep-fried into crisp emping chips, stewed in rich Padang gravies, and eaten with rice as a beloved, cheap, protein-rich vegetable. It is a defining flavour of Sundanese, Minangkabau and Malay cooking, celebrated for exactly the funky, oniony bitterness that makes it divisive to outsiders.

40 pairings
Where it grows
major regionnotable region
Global seasonality · at peak worldwide
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