Yongchak from Sikkim and Nepal: A stinky business in Siliguri

Recently, we noticed a vegetable vendor selling Yongchak – Tree bean or Stink bean (parika speciosa) on the roadside in Siliguri. The tree/stink bean is popularly called Yongchak in the Northeast, specially in Manipur and Nagaland. The Manipuri terminology literally translates to ‘food of the monkeys’.

It was surprising to see the vendor selling yongchak in Siliguri, so we decided to strike a little conversation with the lady selling them. She was from Nepal and her family bring the produces from Nepal and sell in Siliguri. She said there is Yongchak grows very well in her village and in most cases, traders buy the entire production and supply to Manipur. The deal takes place soon after the flowering season, and traders pay them the advance for each tree for each season.

But how does one explain yongchak trees in Sikkim, Darjeeling, Siliguri Terai, or Nepal? It may be mentioned that the is not part of the traditional cuisine of the eastern Himalayan regions including Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, or even Bangladesh.

Yongchak Eromba or Singju, prepared with fermented fish, is one of the most sought after dishes. The highly potent bean pod leaves a unique strong after taste in your buds, allegedly that of a stinky fart. The bean is supposedly good for your gastrointestinal health and basically converts you into a stinky-fart machine the next day. It is highly sought after in the market, with one bean costing as much as Rs. 50-60, depending on the season and is also found in cuisines across other South Asian countries.

The production of yongchak in Manipur has taken a severe blow in the last few years due to some ‘unknown’ fungal disease. All trees in traditional growing belts have been wiped out dead by the disease resulting in severe scarcity of yongchak in the state. Due to the decline in production, the cost of this bean has now sky rocketed and people are unable to afford it. Reportedly, the same virus is also spreading to orange farms and affecting orange orchards now.

Today, traders are importing yongchak from Sikkim and Nepal into Manipur. As we track a little deeper into the origin of the yongchak trees in these unimaginable parts of Sikkim, Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and even parts of Nepal. A plausible explanation to it is that after the political problems of the 1980s following the Bhumiputra movement in the Northeast, many Gorkha families migrated from Manipur and other Northeast states to Sikkim, Darjeeling, Siliguri Terai, Dooars, and even to Nepal in search of new beginnings.

Many of those who migrated from Manipur brought along the food habits and some even planted yongchak trees and saplings. It is not surprising to spot a yongchak tree in the region and people not knowing anything about the beans other than that it stinks like fart.

Nonetheless, finding a vegetable seller in Siliguri selling yongchak on the streets is a living example how culinary traditions and cultures spread, gets passed on, and assimilate in the end. May the tribe of Yongchak grow!!