Edible Asian Garden. Rosalind Creasy

      ‘Siam Queen’ (above); Holy basil (left); Lemon basil (right)

      Three Asian basils are prominent ingredients in the cuisines of Southeast Asia. Red-stemmed Thai basil is relatively similar in taste and appearance to Italian sweet basil, but with an anise flavor. Small-leafed lemon basil has a delicate citrus scent and taste. Purple-tinged holy basil, with slightly serrated leaves, has a strong scent of cloves and a musky taste. Holy basil is so named because it is sacred to the Hindu gods and is found planted near temples and homes in India.

      How to grow: Basils are annuals that glory in hot weather and wither in the frost. Gardeners in cool-summer areas struggle to keep them going. Choose a well-drained area of the garden in full sun or light shade, and with fertile organic soil.

      You can start basil seeds inside a month before planting them out, or purchase them as transplants from specialty nurseries in the spring. Basil put out in the garden before the weather is warm suffers badly. Space seedlings 1 foot apart. Keep the plants fairly moist during the growing season. Feed basil with fish emulsion every 6 weeks and after a large harvest.

      Harvest basil leaves about 80 days from sowing by picking or cutting. Keep the flower heads continually cut back or the plant will go to seed.

      Varieties

      Seeds of Thai, lemon, and holy basil can be purchased from the herb catalogs listed in Resources. ‘Siam Queen’ is a new variety of Thai basil that is compact and tasty.

      How to prepare: Thai basil is excellent in Southeast Asian curries of vegetables, chicken, and game (see recipe, page 86). Both Thai basil and lemon basil are excellent for flavoring soups and added fresh to salads. The seeds of lemon basil are used in sweet drinks and mixed with coconut milk to make a dessert. Soaked in drinks, these seeds become slippery, yet crunchy. In Vietnam and Thailand, lemon and Thai basils are combined on a platter with fresh mints, Vietnamese coriander or cilantro, and lettuce to put in spring rolls, which are served with a spicy dip (see recipe, page 78.)

      Holy basil is almost always used in noodle dishes paired with chicken or shellfish. Use this basil according to taste, for its flavor intensifies in cooking.

      BEANS

      ADZUKI (RED BEAN)

      Vigna angularis

      Mandarin: hong xiao dou, chi dou; Japanese: azuki

      MUNG (GREEN BEAN)

      V. radiata

      Chinese: look dow

      SOY (SOYA BEAN, SOYBEAN)

      Glycine max

      Mandarin: da dou; Cantonese: tai tau, wong tau, hak tau; Japanese: daizu, eda mame

      A layout of green mung, white soy, and red adzuki beans.

      Adzuki beans are popular in Japan. The pods, which grow to about 4 inches, contain reddish seeds; the flowers are rose colored. Mung beans have purplish yellow flowers, hairy pods that grow to about 4 inches, and green seeds. Both are bushy plants that reach about 3 feet tall. Soybeans are a powerhouse of nutrition and the major source of protein for many Asians. The white- and black-seeded ones are generally used as dry beans, the green-seeded ones for fresh eating. Soybean plants have fuzzy leaves, stems, and pods and grow to about 2 feet. The tiny flowers are white or lilac.

      How to grow: Soy, adzuki, and mung beans are all annuals, grown much as you would regular bush beans. Plant after all danger of frost is past and the soil has warmed to at least 60°F. Plant in full sun in a well-drained garden loam. Sow seeds 1 inch deep in rows 24 inches apart. Thin seedlings to 4 inches apart. (Wider spacing is needed for soybeans in southern areas.) Once established, water deeply and infrequently. If the plants look pale at midseason, fertilize with fish emulsion.

      The Mexican bean beetle can be a pest in certain areas. Phytophthora can be a problem for soybeans, especially in overly moist soil.

      You can eat the immature pods of both adzuki and mung beans or let them mature and use the beans fresh shelled or dried. Harvest soybeans for fresh shelling when the pods are plump but still green or let them dry before harvesting. If letting the beans dry on the plant, harvest after the plant turns brown. Pull up the whole plant and hang to dry completely in a warm, dry place. Shell the beans and store them in airtight containers in a cool, dry place.

      Varieties

      Mung and Adzuki Varieties

      Mung and adzuki beans are usually not available as named varieties. Vermont Bean Seed Company and Evergreen Y. H. Enterprises carry them.

      Adzuki: 60 days pods, 90 days mature seeds; high yields; pods contain 7-10 beans

      Mung: 90 days mature; pods contain 7-9 beans; use for plants or sprouting if not treated with fungicides

      Soybean Varieties

      Johnny’s Select Seeds, Evergreen Y. H. Enterprises, and Kitazawa Seed Company carry a few varieties.

      ‘Butterbeans’: 90 days, fresh; green beans, buttery flavor; high yields, good fresh

      ‘Envy’: 75 days, fresh; very early, short-season favorite; green beans good fresh or dried

      Soy, Verde: 98 days; not for northern climates; very nutty flavor; 3-foot bushes with pea-sized green beans

      Soybean plants (above); soybeans (below)

      [How to Sprout Mung and Soybeans]

      It is amazingly easy to sprout bean seeds, which can be a fun project for children. Purchase seeds in bulk from an Asian grocery or a health-food store, or order sprouting seeds from a mail-order nursery. When obtaining them from a nursery, make sure the seeds have not been treated with a fungicide that is applied to aid sprouting in cold soils.

      Of the several ways to sprout beans, the easiest is to put ½ cup of seeds in a clean 1-quart widemouthed mason jar and cover the top of the jar with cheesecloth tied with string. Soak the bean seeds in water overnight and drain them the next morning. Put the jar in a cool, dark place, like a closet, to sprout. Rinse the seeds with cold water 2 to 3 times a day to cool the growing sprouts and provide moisture (more often in warm weather). Drain them well each time. Repeat the process for 4 or 5 days or until the seeds have sprouted and are about 1½ inches long. Once the sprouts are ready, rinse them well to remove most of the hulls and refrigerate them. The sprouts deteriorate quickly and are best used within a day. Your mung and soy sprouts will be curlier and a little smaller than those grown commercially, but they taste the same. One word of caution: Soybean sprouts need to be cooked before they are eaten.

      How to prepare: Green soybeans can be cooked in numerous ways when fresh or allowed to mature and used as dry beans. Add raw fresh beans to raw rice and cook them together, as they cook up at the same rate.

      The great majority of white soybeans in Asia are made into soy products or consumed as sprouts. The latter use is particularly prevalent in Cantonese dishes, where they are stir-fried or used in soups. In Korea, the sprouts are used for salads (see recipe, page 78), and in a stew with pork.

      (Caution: Soy sprouts are not edible in their raw state and are always eaten cooked.) The Japanese enjoy the fresh green soybeans in a traditional fall snack (edamame) consumed with beer. The beans, pod and all (sometimes still on the stalk), are boiled in salted water and drained; then snackers shell their own, as we do peanuts in the shell (see recipe, page 82). In Japan, the beans are sometimes shelled and added

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