Four heavenly kings

“Four Heavenly Kings”, also known as “Four Seasons Vegetables”, is a stir-fried dish comprised of four vegetables, typically eggplant, okra, petai (also known as stink beans) and snake beans. Served with spicy sambal on the side, this vegetable-packed stir-fry is perfect to eat on freshly steamed rice.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 ml) vegetable oil
• 100 g Lebanese eggplant, sliced into lengths
• 100 g snake beans, cut into 4 cm lengths
• 20 g dried prawns, soaked 1 hour and roughly chopped
• 100 g sambal (see Note)
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 100 g okra, sliced diagonally
• 100 g stink beans (petai) or wing beans
• Salt and sugar to taste
• 1 lime, juiced
• Cooked rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan, until smoking. Deep-fry the sliced eggplant, until golden, then use a slotted spoon to remove to a wire rack to drain off any excess oil.
2. Deep-fry the snake beans until wrinkled, then remove them to the rack with the eggplant. Transfer 2 tbsp of the deep-frying oil to a second large wok or frying pan, allowing the deep-fryer to cool completely.
3. Heat the oil in the second pan, then stir-fry the chopped rehydrated prawns for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant. Stir through the sambal and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes, followed by the onion for a further 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the okra and petai (or wing beans) to the pan and stir-fry until tender. Add the deep-fried vegetables to the pan and toss well to coat, cooking for a further 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and sugar to taste, then stir through the lime juice.
4. Transfer the Four Heavenly Kings to a serving plate and serve with hot rice.

Note

• Jarred sambal udang or sambal belacan are best to pair with this recipe.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.