how to cook yard beans Archives

Bodi or Bora, and some may even know it as Yard Beans, Snake Beans, Pea Beans, Asparagus Beans or Chinese Long Beans, is one of my favorite curry dishes, even as a lil fella on the islands. And while the recipe will work with French or String beans, Bodi has a unique flavor it imparts into the finished dish like nothing else.

You’ll Need…

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion (sliced)
5 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Geera)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Green Seasoning
2 tablespoons curry powder
3 Bird Pepper (bird’s eye)
2 lbs Bodi (trimmed)
3/4 teaspoon salt (adjust)
4 medium potatoes (chunks)
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoon coconut cream

Notes. May I recommend you use the video below to follow along as much more about the recipe is discussed there. If making this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to ensure they meet your specific gluten free dietary requirements. Especially the curry powder you use, as some may contain fillers. I used Bird’s Eye Peppers in the amount I can handle, use any pepper you like or can source or you may leave it out.

Wash and trim the ends off the Bodi (discard), then cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Rinse again and drain.

Heat the oil in a wide pan on a medium flame, then add the onion, garlic and Cumin (geera) seeds. Turn the heat to low and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the Caribbean Green Seasoning, Bird’s Eye Peppers and black pepper, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes before adding the curry powder. Heat still on low.

The goal is to slowly cook the curry powder to bloom the spices which make up this wonderful blend. Should you need to add a bit more oil, do so.

Four minutes later add the washed and trimmed Bodi to the pot and stir well.

Turn the heat up to medium high.

Follow up with the salt and potato pieces. Mix well to coat.

The water goes in now and bring to a boil.

Tuck in the coconut cream and reduce to a simmer. Cook with the lid on but slightly ajar.

At the 25 minute mark you may check and adjust the salt. Remember to stir a couple times and add a bit more water if you need to. Here’s when you’ll decide if the sauce of gravy at the bottom is to your liking.

The potato pieces along with the Bodi should be fully cooked by now and it’s important that you consider that any sauce at the bottom of the pot will further thicken as it cools, especially with the residual heat of the pot.

While in my youth Sada Roti was my fave way to enjoy this delightful vegan dish, over the years Buss Up Shut Roti is my go-to!

As a young fella on the islands, my brother and I usually helped mom with the kitchen garden after school and on the weekends. I enjoyed seeing plants go from seeds to actually bearing fruit and harvest time was usually my favorite. Picking bodi (yard beans) off the bush (grows on a vine-like bush) was like a treasure hunt and it didn’t hurt that I LOVE beans of all shape and form. So the meals which would follow the time spent harvesting, was a glorious time for me. Traditionally mom did this one of two ways, in a curry or stewed with some sort of leftover meat or bits of salted cod. But in this recipe I’ll show you another take on cooking bodi (or any green bean).

You’ll Need…

1 lb Bodi (aka yard beans)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tomato diced
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves garlic (finely diced)
1/4 teaspoon ginger (grated)
1/2 cup cashews (raw)
1 tablespoon veg oil
1/4 cup water
Fresh ground black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 teaspoon oyster sauce

* Taste for salt near the end and adjust as the soy and oyster sauce may have enough salt to season this dish. I used oyster sauce in this recipe, so please visit your local Chinese grocers for a vegetarian option if you want to make this 100% vegetarian. If you cannot get bodi, feel free to use string beans or french beans, but note that they may cook faster than bodi. Be sure to use a gluten free soy sauce and oyster sauce if cooking this according to a gluten free diet.

Prep the yard beans by trimming off the ends, then cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces. Wash and drain. Dice the onion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper – remember to wash your hands after handling the scotch bonnet, don’t use any seeds and only use as much as you can handle. The recipe works fine without it as well. (I grated the ginger)

Heat the oil on a medium flame, then toss in the garlic, onion and ginger… lower the heat to low and let this gently cook for about 3 minutes.

Raise the heat to medium and then go in with the trimmed bodi pieces, stir well, then add all the other ingredients (except the tomato) and add the water. Bring to a boil and cook on a medium heat for about 10-12 minutes, then go in with the cashews. Stir well.

Here’s where it’s up to you to personalize the dish a bit… taste for salt and determine how tender you like your beans. If you like it really tender you may need to add a bit more water and cook for an extra 5 minutes or so. As you turn off the heat toss in the diced tomato to brighten up the overall stir-fry. The residual heat from the pan will be enough to cook the tomato enough (so it’s not melted away).

If you didn’t already know, Chinese immigrants (as contract laborers) came to the Caribbean over a century ago (between 1853 and 1879), so you’ll find many of our dishes are heavily influenced by their delicious contributions.

I do hope you give this bodi stirfry with cashews a try as the flavors and texture is simply stunning.

how to cook yard beans

Curry Bodi With Potatoes.

Vegetarian Stir Fry Bodi (yard beans) With Cashews.

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