What To do With Mung Beans

Mung beans are small, oval shaped beans. They are commonly used in Chinese cuisine, as well as the cuisines of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and others. The starch from the bean is also extracted to make jellies and cellophane noodles.

Mung beans are generally prepared from dried beans by boiling them until they are soft. In Chinese cuisine, whole mung beans are used to make tangshui, a dessert. In Indonesia the beans are cooked with sugar, coconut milk and a little ginger to make a pudding. The whole beans are also made into mung bean paste by dehulling, cooking and pulverizing the beans to a dry paste. In Hong Kong the dehulled mung beans and mung bean paste are made into ice cream or frozen ice pops.

Mung beans are high in nutrition yet low in calories. They have so many uses, including sprouts, which can be grown under artificial light for about a week to produce bean sprouts.

Below is a a substantial, warming dish that is not only healthy, but hearty. I hope you enjoy it.

Mung Bean Casserole




Ingredients
•½ cup (3 oz, 75 g) dried mung beans
•4 - 6 medium potatoes
•Oil for frying
•1 onion, sliced and chopped
•2 large carrots, sliced
•2 large sticks of celery, sliced
•4 - 6 mushrooms, sliced
•2 cups (16 fl oz, 480 ml) vegetable stock
•½ tsp. miso (if available)
•salt and pepper to taste

Method

Oven: Pre-heat to 400F (200C)

Cover the mung beans with about three times their volume of cold water, and leave to soak overnight.

Drain and rinse the beans. Add them to a pan of boiling water. Boil rapidly for ten minutes, then turn down the heat and let them simmer for another ten minutes or until completely cooked. When ready, drain the beans and rinse in a sieve under running water.

While the beans are cooking, peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Boil in salted water for about ten minutes, or until they're just beginning to soften.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion, and cook gently for a few minutes. Then add the carrots, celery and mushrooms. Continue cooking until the vegetables are starting to become tender. Add the stock, miso and seasoning, and cook for another five minutes.

Add the cooked beans, potatoes and vegetables to an oven dish. Cook in the oven, covered, for 30 minutes.