いんげんまめ
いんげんまめ
noun
kidney bean; common bean; green bean
1.
kidney bean; common bean
the dried seed of the common bean plant, used in various dishes including soups, stews, and sweets
いんげんまめを煮た。
I cooked kidney beans.
いんげんまめは甘く煮て和菓子にも使われる。
Kidney beans are simmered in sugar and also used in Japanese sweets.
北海道はいんげんまめの生産量が日本一だ。
Hokkaido has the highest kidney bean production in Japan.
2.
green bean; string bean
the immature pod of the same plant, eaten as a green vegetable, also called さやいんげん
いんげんまめの胡麻あえを作った。
I made green beans dressed with sesame.
いんげんまめは茹ですぎると食感が悪くなる。
If you boil green beans too long, the texture gets bad.
今日の弁当のおかずにいんげんまめの肉巻きを入れた。
I put green beans wrapped in meat in today's lunch box as a side dish.
Can be written in kanji as 隠元豆, named after the Chinese Zen monk 隠元 who is said to have brought the bean to Japan in the 17th century. In everyday use, the word can refer to either the dried bean (sense 1) or the green pod (sense 2), though the green pod is more precisely called さやいんげん.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- いんげんまめの煮物: simmered kidney beans
- いんげんまめの胡麻あえ: green beans with sesame dressing
- いんげんまめの肉巻き: green beans wrapped in meat
- いんげんまめの天ぷら: green bean tempura
SIMILAR WORDS:
- さやいんげん: green beans (pod) — specifically the fresh green pods
- 小豆: azuki bean — red bean used in Japanese sweets
- 大豆: soybean — larger bean central to Japanese cuisine
- 枝豆: edamame — immature soybeans eaten as a snack