Wednesday 10 December 2014

Hyacinth Beans (Pang Pei Dau In Cantonese)

What makes me want to grow "Pang Pei Dau" (in Cantonese) or Asia Purple Hyacinth Bean in my little garden with limited space? It is because I love "pang pei tou" soup. Nowadays its not easy to find them in urban markets. I managed to get some seeds from a friend. Whenever I cook or drink this soup, it always takes me back to the days when I was a kid staying in the village. They were so filled with exciting outdoor adventures and most of them landed me in trouble with mom and spanking from her.
Hyacinth bean stalk is a climber. It is a tropical plant and it grows well in warm climate in well-drained soil. It is very easy to grow. It grow fast and will produce beans for few months. I germinated a few seeds and I planted the young plants in a 46 cm (18 inch.) diameter pot next to the chain link fencing for them to climb.
The bean stalks I have in my garden are the Asia Purple Hyacinth. From the photo you can see that the leaves are green and thin. The pods are green with purple edges and is slightly curved and flat. Other varieties are the Hyacinth Purple Flowers, Hyacinth White Flowers and Hyacinth Asia White Flowers.
The flowers are in shades of purple. Those with deep purple flowers and beans are grown as ornamental plant to show off their lovely, brilliant colour. The flowers are in long, upright stalks, reaching up to the sky.
Even the plants want to reach out and give praise and glory to its Creator.

"To whom will you compare Me?

Or who is My equal?" says the Holy One.

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one,

and calls them each by name.

Because of His great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.

(Isaiah 40:25-26, New International Version-NIV)
These are the Hyacinth seeds, ready for germination. These are slightly bigger than the normal red beans and they are dark brown to black in colour.
I usually harvest my Hyacinth beans when they are just starting to mature, i.e. when the pods started to bulge with the seeds inside. Hyacinth beans can be toxic if eaten raw.
Tonight I will be boiling my Hyacinth beans soup with these newly harvest beans. My soup recipes, or all my cooking recipes are very simple (ching chai lah), which is also the name of my blog.
These are the ingredients: Add in a carrot, cut into wedges, some red dates (better to remove the pits), some wolfberries, water and of course meat and some salt to taste.

And my God will meet all your needs
according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(Philippians 4:19-20, New International Version-NIV)

17 comments:

  1. reading your posts reminds me ....you are living in Adam's garden :) so healthy :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha in Abba's garden la, tended by Nancy and free to eat what Abba has provided and blessed.

      Delete
  2. 1st time seeing this beans. Looks like it makes a good & healthy soup.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Usually found in markets in smaller towns only, sold by elderly ladies along the pathway.

      Delete
  3. I don't think I have eaten these beans before nor seen them before. The flowers are pretty. Do you eat the pods as well like sweet peas?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I will eat the whole pods including the seeds inside.

      Delete
    2. The seeds are the beans right? Just like sweet peas.

      Delete
  4. The pods with the purple edges are pretty! It is always very cool when we can recreate food that we loved from our childhood!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will try to keep them in my garden to supply the beans...not easy to get them from my local market.

      Delete
  5. Hi Nancy,

    You have planted your hyacinth beans so well... It's time to reap the rewards :D

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  6. I seen the flowers before, it's very nice...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should see the deep purple ones, very striking and beautiful!

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. Hi Linda, thank you....yes, they are pretty, thank you again.

      Delete
  8. Nancy, I think I have seen these beans being sold in the supermarket. But I did not know how to cook them so I never bought. The flowers are pretty!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mostly those who were brought up in villages will enjoy this bean soup.

      Delete

Your visits and encouraging comments are greatly appreciated. Please leave me your name and blog link for me to visit you. Thank you.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...