The long bean has quite a number of interesting names. Here in Singapore, we also call it by it’s Malay name, kachang panjang, but it’s also known as the snake bean, yardlong bean, dau gok in Cantonese, jiang dou in Mandarin, and the “chopstick bean” in Vietnamese.
Sidenote: I wonder about the “yard long” term, because it’s barely half that length. Whoever came up with that name must have enjoyed exaggerating a lot! Anyway we probably dropped the “yard” from the name because we use the metric system here…
Long beans are a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus and potassium. They are an even better source for vitamin C, folate, magnesium and manganese. They can be eaten raw (best when they’re slim and young) or cooked. Yum!
Here’s my journey growing long beans:
The long bean attempt has been a success!
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