Ingredient Name: Mung Beans (also known as mungbean, bean, mung, green gram, mung gram)

Traditional Chinese Name: 綠豆 (lǜdòu)

What is this?
  • The direct translation of this from Chinese means “green bean”
  • It is a small, round, oval-shaped bean that is green in color with a white eye (or center) and very hard
  • The mung bean is commonly used in Chinese cuisine (soups, stews, desserts, made into paste, dishes, etc..)
  • It is considered a cooling food and used to fight inflammation, heaty bodies, heat stroke, and fevers

How do I prepare it?

  • Soak in warm water and rinse before using in soups

Where can I buy this?

  • Readily available at most Asian supermarkets (packaged)
  • Definitely available in Hong Kong wet marts (sold in the dried food vendor stalls) and can be purchased in the bulk volume of your choice

What is the cost?

  • Very affordable
  • One bag of 100g of mung bean cost me around $5-6 HKD at the wet mart
  • This price will vary on vendor to vendor (and even from wet mart to supermarket)

Any benefits?

  • The mung bean is an excellent source of protein
  • It contains a healthy amount of Vitamin C and E
  • They also contain Calcium, Iron, and Potassium
  • The beans are a great weight-loss food and still give them punch of require proteins in daily diet

Any precautions?

  • Take caution when consuming in the first trimester of a pregnancy (for soups, you can throw in 3-4 pieces of ginger into a soup that has mung beans)
  • Be sure to purchase mung beans from a reputable source

Additional Information

  • Store in a dry and cool place (up to 6 months)