23rd March 2009Also knows as winged beans or more prosaically as four angled beans. Its scientific name is Psophocarpus tetragonolobus and also known as kacang botol(some say kacang kelisa) in Malay as well as say lim tau in Cantonese. Its a legume widely planted in many South East Asian countries.
It is acclaimed as a "supermarket on a stalk" thanks to its high nutrient content, combining the benefits of green beans, garden pea, spinach, mushrooms, soy beans, bean sprouts and potatoes. Virtually the entire plant is edible - from flowers and leaves to tuberous roots and seeds.
Winged beans have been grown for generations in Papua New Gunea and South East Asia where they were once considered a "poor man's crop". The plant used to grow primarily in the backyards and was generally ignored; nowadays however, kacang botol is commercially cultivated in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS
Various parts of the winged beans are rich source of protein, vitamins and minerals. It is an especially good source of Vitamin A. The long pods are a rich source of protein, carbohydrate and vitamin A.
The winged beans seeds are just as good as the soy bean in term of the quantity and quality of its protein. Studies have shown that like many other legumes when combined with corn, winged beans have the protein value of mil and can adequately nourish a protein-starved infant.
The seeds contain 30%-39% protein, 15%-18% fat and 24%-42% carbohydrate. The tender top three sets of leaflets can be eaten raw like spinach or cooked as greens. They are rich in vitamin A, 5%-7.6% of protein and 3%-8.5% of carbohydrate.
The tubers are much richer in protein than potatoes, taro or cassava. They contain 12%-15% protein(2 to 4 times higher then potatoes and 8 times more than a cassava), 0.5% - 1.1% far and 27%-30% carbohydrate.
Like the soy bean, winged bean seeds, or beans can be pressed to extract edible, mostly unsaturated oil that is rich in vitamin E, leaving behind protein-rich flour suitable for making bread or cereal.
CULINARY USES
Apart from the stalk, the whole plant can be consumed. The tender top leaves can be eaten raw like spinach or cooked as greens, the flowers, sweetened by nectar, can be sauteed to produce a mushroom-like dish, the immature pods can be eaten like green beans, the immature seeds like green peas. The mature dry seeds are like soy beans, and the roots of many varieties produce tubers like potatoes.
The tender pods are the most widely eaten part of the plant. The pods maybe be eaten raw as ulam, or used in salads, soups, stews and curries. However, the most popular way to cook winged beans is to stir-fry them with sambal belacan.
The tubers can be eaten like potatoes. They should be peeled after being boiled, fried or baked. They can also be steamed, roasted or made into chips.
Like soy beans, the mature winged bean can be sprouted, made into curd(tofu) and tempeh or turned into a nutritious milk-like drink. The light blue flowers are also used as food colouring.
Source: Dr Chew Boon Hock
