Yard-Long Beans (Dried)

Yard-Long Beans (Dried): Nutrition and Complete Guide

Yard-long beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) — also known as snake beans, long beans, or Chinese long beans — are related to the cowpea and produce extraordinarily long pods (up to a metre in length in optimal conditions, though the name slightly overstates the typical harvest length). They are widely cultivated across tropical Asia and West Africa and are an important food crop across Southeast Asia, southern China, and the Caribbean, where they are eaten both as fresh young pods (the most common use) and as dried mature seeds. This entry represents the dried mature seed form, which has quite different culinary applications from the fresh pod. Fresh yard-long beans are widely available in Chinese and Southeast Asian supermarkets in Britain and are excellent in stir-fries. The dried seed is used in Caribbean cooking (particularly in Jamaican and Trinidadian traditions, known as "bodi") and in Asian preparations calling for dried beans.

Nutritional Value and Cooking

Dried yard-long bean seeds provide 347 kcal and 24.3 g of protein per 100 g, with 63.5 g of carbohydrates and 11 g of fibre. Good for folate, iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, and thiamine — the characteristic micronutrient profile of Vigna species. Cooked: approximately 116 kcal and 8.3 g protein per 100 g. Soak overnight, simmer forty-five to sixty minutes. Use as you would black-eyed peas or cowpeas in Caribbean and West African bean preparations — with rice, in stews, and in soups. For fresh yard-long beans: cut into 5 cm lengths, stir-fry on high heat with garlic, dried chilli, and oyster sauce for one of the most satisfying quick Asian vegetable dishes.