Mung bean (Chinese Green Bean) soup is a traditional soup dessert in China, but we have different options for cold and hot days. In summer, you can find the packaged ones in almost every freezer of the street store or freshly stewed ones in hot pot restaurants. Mung bean is believed to be beneficial to the human body as it can help to reduce the hotness because of the cold attribute.

What are mung beans or Chinese green beans?

Mung beans, known as Chinese green beans due to their green skins, are commonly used in lots of Chinese soups and desserts. Sometimes, they can be used as a side ingredient in a congee or porridge or they can be the primary ingredients like mung bean cake and this mung bean soup. It has other names too for example luk dau sa (绿豆沙) or lu dou tang (绿豆汤) in Mandarin.

Mung beans are believed to have a cool attribute in traditional Chinese medicine. So we make lots of mung bean soup in summer. Sometimes the soup is frozen to make popsicles.

In winter, we cooked the pumpkin with mung beans. If the pumpkin is sweet enough, it can work as the perfect natural sweetness. To cook this, there is no oil added. It is a very good match for the hot oily dishes on winter days. 

How to make a yummy mung bean soup

I will introduce two ways of making mung bean soup and many of ways of serving it.

On-stove method:

if you plan to cook the mung bean soup in a regular pot, then the first step is to soak it in clean water for around 1 to 2 hours.  Drain and set aside. Soaking will save you lots of time on a regular pot.

Then add mung bean with sugar, water, or other ingredients like pumpkin in a pot. I will recommend using a half-cooking half resting method just like cooking other beans and boba pearls. This can save lots of energy. To do this, so start the fire first and then bring the content to boiling, and heat for 10 minutes. Turn off the fire, cover it, and rest for 20 minutes, and then restart the fire to cook until the beans are completely soft. You do need to simmer it for 1 hour or even longer.

Instant pot method:

The instant pot method is much easier, simply add sugar, mung beans, and pumpkin if using, and water and cook with bean or soup pressure. Let the pot stay in the cooker for 20 minutes and transfer out. Add a pinch of salt to balance the taste and wait for the soup to cool down naturally.

Ways of serving

You can add pumpkin cubes to the mung bean soup. If you prefer a healthier version, pumpkin can provide natural sweetness and you can skip sugar.

Mung bean soup can be served directly after cooking, served either chilled or warm.

You can further choose to mix it with other ingredients like coconut milk, milk or even use it as a base for milk tea. I love to add coconut milk and cooked sago. It is a more popular drink now in my area.