How to Eat Red Long Beans: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking This Versatile Vegetable

Red long beans also known as yard long beans are a popular vegetable in many Asian cuisines. With their striking dark red pods and crunchy texture, they have a delicious flavor when prepared properly. Read on to learn how to select, store, and cook red long beans in tasty vegan recipes.

Red long beans are a variety of cowpea, a legume native to Africa and Asia. The vines can grow up to 10 feet long and produce slender, elongated pods ranging from one to three feet long. Unlike green long beans, the red variety has pods coloured a deep burgundy red.

Red long beans have a crunchy texture similar to green beans but with a more pronounced bean flavor When harvested young, the whole pod can be eaten like a green bean If left to mature fully on the vine, the seeds inside can be shelled and eaten like a shelling bean.

Compared to green beans, red long beans contain slightly more protein, fiber, iron, and calcium. They are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, K, and B vitamins. With a tasty flavor profile and stellar nutrition, it’s no wonder red long beans are cherished in Thai, Filipino, Indian and other Southeast Asian cuisines.

How to Select Fresh Red Long Beans

When shopping for red long beans, look for slender, flexible pods without blemishes. Avoid beans with bulges, spots, wrinkles, or dry, cracked ends. The beans should have a vibrant red color. Pale beans were likely picked late and may be tough.

Select beans around 18 inches long. Extra long beans tend to be more mature and less tender. The ideal size ranges from 12 to 24 inches. Prioritize thinner pods, which indicate younger, more tender beans.

If buying in bulk, inspect a few pods from the middle of the pile. Avoid bundles with crushed or split beans, which spoil quickly. Seek out beans with fresh, green stem ends.

Proper Storage for Maximum Freshness

To extend shelf life, promptly refrigerate red long beans after purchase. First, snap off any dry ends and trim the beans if excessively long. Rinse briefly and pat thoroughly dry.

Wrap beans in a clean paper towel or dish cloth then place inside a perforated plastic bag. This prevents moisture accumulation while still allowing air flow.

Stored this way in the crisper drawer, fresh red long beans will keep for 4-5 days. For extended use, blanch briefly until bright green, then freeze in airtight bags up to 8 months.

How to Prepare Red Long Beans

Rinse and trim – Rinse beans and snap off any dry ends. Trim extremely long beans for easier cooking and eating.

Cut into pieces – Slice beans into 2-3 inch lengths, or chop diagonally into bite-sized pieces. This shortens the cooking time.

Blanch briefly – Boiling for 1 minute tenderizes beans, enhances color, and shortens cooking time. Shock in icy water to stop cooking.

Saute or stir-fry – Quickly cooking over high heat maximizes flavor and retains texture in stews, curries, or alone.

Roast or grill – Dry heat concentrates flavors and gives a charred edge. Toss with oil and seasonings.

Steam or braise – For softer beans, steam until fork tender or braise in flavorful liquids until done. Avoid overcooking.

With these useful preparation tips, red long beans can shine in any recipe!

Delicious Ways to Cook Red Long Beans

Beyond green bean stand-ins, there are many appetizing ways to highlight red long beans’ flavor, texture, and beauty in plant-based dishes:

Thai Red Curry

Slice red long beans and simmer in coconut curry sauce with tofu, peppers, and Thai basil for a rich, fragrant curry.

Vegetable Stir Fry

Stir frying maintains the perfect crisp-tender texture. Mix with broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, and protein like tempeh.

Indonesian Long Beans

Top chunks of red long bean with spicy peanut sauce for the classic Indonesian dish called oseng-oseng.

Indian Beans Poriyal

In this South Indian stir fry, long beans are cooked with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and grated coconut.

Filipino Pinakbet

Saute red long beans with eggplant, okra, squash, and shrimp paste for the iconic Filipino dish. Substitute plant-based shrimp.

Grilled Long Beans

Char whole long beans on the grill until lightly blackened. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and smoked paprika for a simple side.

Long Beans and Tofu

Saute tofu with red long beans, garlic, sesame oil, and oyster sauce for a fast protein meal.

Experiment with red long beans in soups, noodles, grains, and salads too. They pair especially well with bold flavors like curry, coconut, chili, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, lime, and cilantro.

Tips for Cooking Red Long Beans Perfectly

To get the best results when cooking red long beans, follow these helpful guidelines:

Cut into 2-3 inch lengths to reduce cooking time
Cook quickly over high heat like stir-frying, sautéing, or grilling
Avoid overcooking; beans should remain lightly crunchy
Braise in flavorful liquids for soups, curries, and stews
Roast at high heat with a little oil to caramelize and char
Season cooked beans with salt, garlic, chili, ginger, lime, herbs
Add nuts like peanuts or cashews for extra crunch and flavor
Use as a substitute for green beans while recognizing the bolder bean taste

With high heat and the right seasonings, the flavors of red long beans really get a chance to shine through. These useful tips will help you cook them perfectly every time.

Should Red Long Beans be Eaten Raw?

While not toxic, raw red long beans contain higher concentrations of phytic acid and other antinutrients compared to cooked beans. Phytic acid can inhibit mineral absorption.

Cooking helps break down these antinutrients while also softening the beans for easier digestion and nutrient assimilation. Unless you have an ironclad digestive system, it is best to enjoy red long beans cooked rather than raw.

Lightly steaming, blanching, or sauteing the beans for a just a minute deactivates the protease inhibitors and lectins found in raw beans. This makes their nutrients far more bioavailable to the body.

For food safety, raw beans should also be avoided by pregnant women, children, the elderly, or immunocompromised individuals. Overall, thoroughly cooking red long beans makes them the most appetizing, nutritious, and safest to eat.

Complementary Ingredients for Red Long Bean Dishes

Here are some tasty ingredients that pair exceptionally well with red long beans:

Proteins: Tofu, tempeh, seitan, edamame, cashews, peanuts
Veggies: Mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, baby corn, eggplant
Herbs and Spices: Basil, cilantro, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, shallots
Sauces and Pastes: Thai red curry, sambal oelek, hoisin, tamari, chili garlic paste
Oils and Vinegars: Toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, coconut oil
Flavor Boosters: Lime, chili peppers, fish sauce substitute, tamarind

Playing up the complementary flavors of bold spices, fresh herbs, tangy citrus, and savory sauces allows the taste of red long beans to shine. Pairing with tofu, tempeh, or peas adds protein. Trying red long beans with this mix of ingredients opens up many possibilities for Asian-inspired vegan meals.

Tasty Vegan Main Dishes Featuring Red Long Beans

Here are a handful of our favorite red long bean recipes perfect for vegan and vegetarian mains:

Red Curry Noodles with Tofu and Long Beans
Long Bean and Tempeh Stir Fry
Filipino Pinakbet with Tofu
Grilled Tofu and Long Beans with Peanut Sauce
Szechuan Long Beans and Seitan
Thai Red Curry with Long Beans and Chickpeas
Spicy Long Bean Fried Rice with Cashews
Indonesian Gado Gado Salad with Long Beans

With their robust flavor, red long beans make for satisfying vegan protein options when paired with tofu, tempeh, seitan, edamame, or chickpeas. Their vibrant color also livens up any dish!

For Best Results, Try Red Long Beans Today!

With so many tasty ways to enjoy them, red long beans deserve a spot on your plate. Aim for slender, flexible pods free of blemishes and trim off dry ends

how do you eat red long beans

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Great Color For Vegetable Garden

I grow Asian Long Beans (Vigna unguiculata var. sesquipedalis) every year, the common green one. This bean has many names: Asparagus bean, Yardlong bean, but I prefer Asian Long Bean. It’s a very useful bean. You can cook it any which way you like or just eat it fresh. I cut it up into little chunks and put them in salads or eat them as a snack right there in the garden. It doesn’t have that greenish taste like string beans do. I also put them in curry as well as stir fry. When I have time at home to write down the recipes and the home-cooked meals that my family and friends make, I’ll send them along.

I’ve always liked to try new things, so when I found out that the long bean comes in a red variety, I got some seeds. This specific one (see below) is called “Red Noodle”. They grow pretty fast when the weather gets hot but produce a lot of leaves, no flowers. Our soil is too fertile, I guess. Maybe it’s too much of a good thing that there is compost, chicken manure, and beans that can make their own nitrogen. So they just produced a lot of healthy looking leaves. I decided to give them my grandmother’s treatment…. take the leaves off.

Yes, just alternately nip off some of their leaves. The only reason she did this was to make the plants think they were dying so they would make babies as a way to stay alive. It works every time.

Two weeks after I cut off a few leaves of the Red Noodle plants, they bloomed, and they have kept flowering ever since. Now, we have more beans than we can eat. Our neighbor, Natalie, refused to take them just based on color. She took the green ones though claiming she had to get use to the color first. They are a lovely burgundy red.

I pick them when they’re only a foot long and tender. Anything longer than that doesn’t taste as good. I let a couple of them grow for seeds and they can grow longer than two feet. If you like beans, this is a good one to grow. You can use them in place of string beans in any recipe. On the plus side, the flowers are really pretty. They are larger than string bean flowers and have a lavender color. Georgia O’Keefe would have painted this flower.

Yard long beans (or Chinese noodle beans) tell all! Harvest, taste, and recipe.

FAQ

How to eat long beans?

The long bean is also known as the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean. They have a very pronounced flavor and have a distinctly beany taste, and are not sweet like the green bean. Long beans work best briefly steamed, stir-fried, or braised, but also hold up well when added to stews.

Can long beans be eaten raw?

Yard-long beans can be eaten raw or cooked; just don’t let them go for an extended swim. Serious Eats explains: Though yardlong beans taste similar to green beans, their texture is distinct.

How do you eat red runner beans?

The edible flowers have a bean-like flavor and can be used in salads. The green pods are edible until they become fibrous and can be boiled, steamed, sautéed, or baked (but should be eaten raw only sparingly). Because they are tougher than many green beans, they are best sliced before cooking.