Also known as asparagus bean or snake bean, these favorites are often found in chinese dishes. They thrive in warm, tropical environments and can grow up to inches a day! They grow, vine-like, and can end up as long as three feet in length. The shorter they are, the more sweet and tender they’ll be – often enjoyed raw. The longer growth are ore typically used in stews, stir-frys and curries. They are highly nutritious, offering vitamin A and C, potassium, iron and protein. While they taste similar to your standard green bean, they’re actually more closely related to the black-eyed pea.
Preparation
Everything you want to know about long beans:
- Long beans will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days, best in a closed plastic bag.
- To prepare them, trim away the stem end and slice into desired lengths on the diagonal or straight across. Long beans are best trimmed before stir frying.
- Long beans can be stir-fried, stewed, braised, sautéed, shallow fried, and deep fried. With cooking, the long bean’s bean flavor intensifies.
- Stir fry until just tender crunchy.
- Steam or for 3-7 minutes until just tender.
- Braise for 20 minutes with other vegetables and meats, best in a garlicky or oniony braising liquid.
- Long beans can be served raw in salads or added to soups or stir-fried dishes.
- Long beans are low in calories, about 45 calories per cup, and rich in vitamin A and also contain vitamin C and potassium.
Farms that grow Long Beans
What else is in the bag?
Punalu’u Ahupua’a Farms members check here for this week’s bag items.
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