Mung Beans
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)
