Getting to know 'Patani' in 'Bahay Kubo'

MANILA, Philippines — You've been singing the "Bahay Kubo" song for years. I will bet that at least once you have tried to see if you know all the vegetables that are mentioned in the song, and you have realized that there are certain vegetables that you are not quite familiar with.

Take Patani for example. Except for those who regularly consume it, Patani is a vegetable not too many people know. They are actually Lima beans, sometimes also referred to as white beans, which are large and flat. You find it in the market or supermarket in fresh, dried or canned form depending on the season.

A vegetable that is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, Patani is also rich in antioxidants and cholesterol-lowering fiber and a good source of plant proteins. It goes by the scientific name Phaseolus lunatus and offers many health benefits. It helps lower blood pressure, protects nerves, promotes bone health, detoxifies the body, enhances sleep, and even prevents diabetes and cancer.

These beans grow in pods, but when you buy from the market, you are most likely to get fresh beans in white and black or brown marbled skin. Peel that off to reveal lightly green beans. You can fry them, make ginisa out of them in tandem with tomatoes, bunga ng malunggay, and/or squash, or make a bean soup with them.

As a child, I only knew one recipe for Patani, and I was not sure what it was called. My mom made a pork knuckle stewed or braised dish with tomato sauce with Patani in it.

As an off-the-shelf snack from the grocery, Patani takes on the form of pop beans. Fried in its shell and salted, pop beans are easy to handle because the shells are almost halfway down. Pop beans made from Patani beans are also added to local mixed nuts, along with peanuts, cashew nuts and sometimes raisins.

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