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Aroy Mak Mak

Winged Bean

ถั่วพู

Tua phu: frilly four-winged beans, crunchy in salads and with chilli dips.

Winged Bean

Winged beans have four frilly ridges running along the pod, so they look like stars when sliced. They are crunchy and juicy, and they are one of the prettiest vegetables in Thai cooking.

Pronunciationtua poo
FlavourCrisp, mild and slightly sweet, like a green bean
Used inYam tua phu salad, with nam prik, stir-fries
SubstituteGreen beans or sugar snap peas

How it is used

Sliced and briefly blanched in yam tua phu, a salad with prawns, toasted coconut, shallots and a dressing of lime, fish sauce and chilli jam. Served raw with nam prik kapi and other dips, and stir-fried with garlic and oyster sauce.

Buying and storing

Choose young, bright green beans with crisp wings and no brown edges. They keep for two to three days in the fridge in a bag.

Every part is edible

The young pods are what most people buy, but the whole plant can be eaten: the young shoots and leaves, the pale blue flowers, the tuberous roots and the dried mature seeds. In Thai home cooking the shoots and flowers are sometimes blanched or added to curries and soups, while the pods are the everyday vegetable.

More ways to cook it

  • Raw with nam prik pla ra or nam prik kapi, as part of a plate of fresh vegetables.
  • Fried in a light, crisp batter and served with sweet chilli sauce.
  • Sliced thinly into stir-fries with pork or prawns, added at the last minute so the wings stay crisp.

Outside Thailand

Look for them in Asian grocers, sometimes labelled four-angled bean or dragon bean. Frozen sliced winged beans are also sold and are fine for stir-fries, though not for salads.

Cook’s tip

Blanch winged beans for 30 seconds and plunge them into iced water. They stay bright green and crunchy for salads.

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