Mung Bean Soup

Mung bean is a widely consumed legume type, eaten with or without outer skin. Call it green bean or green gram, it is a versatile bean rich in proteins. You will also find red type and split beans of the same in the market. Mung beans can be prepared as regular dishes, soups, dried snacks, pancakes, etc. While some people serve sweet mung bean soup as dessert, others prefer to have it spicy. Wondering how to cook mung bean soup? Following are some recipes for you.

Sweet Mung Bean Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried mung beans
• ¼ cup coconut milk ( or 1 tablespoon dried coconut milk powder)
• ¼ cup white sugar
• Vanilla or cardamom pods
• 4-5 cups water

Directions for Preparation

Wash beans thoroughly and drain. In a saucepan, add mung beans, pods and cover with water. Put on the lid and simmer for 25-30 minutes. When mung beans pop their skin, add sugar. Wait till sugar dissolves completely in the soup and then, turn off burner. Before serving, add coconut milk and serve while still hot.

Green Mung Bean Soup with Spinach

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole mung beans (washed and drained)
• 10 ounces frozen spinach
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups cooked ham, diced
• 2 chilies, finely chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups water
• Tabasco sauce (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions for Preparation

Add washed beans in a cooking pot and pour 4 cups water. Bring it to boil and simmer for 30 minutes, until beans are softened. On another burner, preheat a thick skillet. Add olive oil, and saute garlic, onion and chili. Remove from heat and keep aside. When beans have turned tender (or burst), add chicken broth and boil for 2-4 minutes. To this, add ham, spinach and cooked onion mixture. If required, add seasonings (salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce). Simmer green bean soup for another 10 minutes and serve.

Mung Bean Soup with Pork

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups dried mung beans, rinsed
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 tomatoes, sliced
• ½ cup pork belly (cut into smaller pieces)
• 2-3 tablespoons dried shrimp
• 2-3 tablespoons shrimp past
• 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
• ½ cup greens (chili leaves)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions for Preparation

Add rinsed mung beans in a saucepan, pour water to cover beans and put over medium high heat. Bring the mixture to a boiling temperature and cook until soft. Remove from heat and allow beans to soak up water. Preheat a thick frying pan and fry pork pieces, until crisp or brown (as per your preference). Using a spoon, transfer cooked pork into a platter and return the pan (with oil) to the burner.

Saute garlic and add onion slices. Saute till transparent and add tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes, and add boiled mung (along with cooking water), dried shrimp and shrimp paste. Bring the mixture to a boiling temperature and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Season the soup with fish sauce, salt and pepper. Stir well, and add fried pork and greens. Simmer in low heat for 5 minutes and serve hot.

If you are concerned about your daily calorie intake, reduce the use of fattening ingredients in the mung bean recipe. in plain mung bean soup, the calories present are 156 per serving. Whereas sweet soup prepared from mung beans, coconut cream and sugar yield more than 240 calories. So, you can alter the ingredients of this soup to suit your calorie requirements and taste buds.