Over the past few weeks, the lovely lubia has begun to ripen at a fast pace, officially proclaiming that summer is at its peak. If you’ve been wondering why the latest green beans you’ve been receiving are so lengthy, coarse, and a bit weird, it’s because they’re not green beans but rather… Thai lubia (yard-long beans)! We “gift-wrap” them in your boxes in shiny paper, like the true one-of-a-kind gift they really are. It’s kind of a shame to expect them to be green beans, because they are a totally different creation:
Meet Iubia. V. unguiculata ssp. Sesquipedalis, a relative of the common bean, chickpea, soybean, fava bean, pea and other members of the beloved Faboideae (also known as “butterfly”) family we so love to nibble. And, like them, lubia also has two versions. The green variety which is eaten in long green pods, and the dry version in which only the dried seeds are eaten.
The multi-named lubia is known as the yard-long bean, bora bean, long-podded lubia, asparagus bean, pea bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean, and here as Thai lubia. All names relate to this bean’s various characteristics. It originates in Southeast Asia, hence the “Chinese” or “Thai” title, and can reach the hearty length of half a meter (though it’s usually harvested young, at approximately 30 cm. long and 1 cm thick). Thai Lubia resembles asparagus in diameter and length, or alternatively, a long, thin green snake (use your imagination.) Its taste ranges between that of green beans and fresh green lubia, whilst the texture is less crunchy and more pliable than the green bean.
To grow, Thai lubia requires a great deal of heat and thrives throughout the sweltering summer months (unlike green beans who faint under the scorching sun). It is seeded in late spring, and we trellis it on high poles, like peas, with a net spread between on which the seedlings adeptly climb. Within some three months, the flowering begins. On each pole, a pair of beautiful butterfly-like flowers develop, and from which a pair of beans ripens, attached at the ends like two twin green worms (and I’ve now thought up yet another name!).
Unlike green beans, the Thai lubia grows slowly and yields pods only after more than three months (compared to two months or less for green beans and peas). But this has its advantages – we can continue harvesting the Thai lubia on and on, till the temperatures drop in wintertime. These beans must be harvested with care, as the flowering pole continues to develop flowers throughout the entire season.
Thai lubia can be harvested, like at Chubeza, at a young stage when it’s 30 cm long and 1 cm thick, and used in the same way as one would prepare fresh lubia or green beans. You can also leave the pods to fully mature on the plant and use the black, red or white seeds (depending on the specific variety) as you would use dry lubia pods or any other dry bean.
At Chubeza, we grow the green variety which bears black seeds, but throughout Asia there’s a spectacular array of colorful, bountiful varieties. The pods themselves come in green and reddish-purple hues, while the seeds can be black, white, brown or red.
Thai lubia can be used in recipes for green beans or fresh lubia, including soups, quiches and fresh salads. In China, it is lightly stir-fried in a wok, and is actually the original green bean to have been used in stir-fried dishes. It tastes divine with fish and even pickled. Thai lubia is very rich in Vitamin A and contains a good amount of Vitamin C.
The Thai lubia recipes featured on our website range from easy to more complex dishes, all delicious, of course. But if you don’t feel like firing up a cooking flame in this scorching heat, just help yourself to a long snake lubia bean and nibble away!
May we enjoy a quiet week, filled with good news to grant a feeling of true freedom for all!
Alon, Bat-Ami, Dror, Einat, and the entire Chubeza team
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WHAT’S IN THIS WEEK’S BOXES?
Monday: Malabar Indian spinach/New Zealand spinach/kale, slice of pumpkin/butternut squash, lettuce, long Thai lubia, scallions/onions, parsley/nana/chives, potatoes, eggplant/carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes.
Large box, in addition: Edamame/okra, popcorn/long Ramiro peppers/hot peppers, cherry tomatoes.
FRUIT BOXES: Pomegranate/pears, red or yellow apples, plums, mango. Large box: Larger quantities of all the above, plus kobo.
Wednesday: Malabar Indian spinach/lettuce, New Zealand spinach/kale, slice of pumpkin/butternut squash, long Thai lubia, scallions/onions, parsley/nana/chives, potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes.
Large box, in addition: Edamame/okra, popcorn/carrots, green peppers/cherry tomatoes.
FRUIT BOXES: Pears, red or yellow apples, plums, mango. Large box: Larger quantities of all the above, plus pomegrante.