Mung Beans

Rad

I've just found a packet of these in my cupboard but have no idea what I bought them to make.
Can anyone tell me how I should cook these, do they need soaked, or have any suggestions for recipies?

Thanks

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hitchhiker_2

Most instructions on the packet will tell you to soak them, but I put mine in the slow cooker with water and it cooks fine. I think a low simmer over the hob would do as well.

The Chinese eat mung beans as a "sweet" soup, cooking it with sugar. Mung beans are supposed to be good for detoxifying the system. However, if sweet bean soup (the texture should come out like lentil stew) is not to your taste, you can cook it like lentils, in a stew or a casserole with anything you like really -- stock, onions, carrots, some herbs, and so on. Like lentils and beans, they absorb whatever flavours you throw in. Sorry I don't have a specific recipe, but I hope this helps a little.

hitchhiker_2

Oh I forgot to add, if yours are the whole beans that haven't been cooked or heat-treated, you might be able to sprout them and make bean sprouts for a stir fry! Here are some instructions on sprouting beans.

thriftlady_2

I sprout them.
Put 2 tbsp in a wide-necked jar and soak in water overnight.
Next day,drain and cover the neck of the jar with a piece of muslin/old tights and a rubber band.
3 times a day run water into the jar through the muslin and drain it out again.
Keep the jar in a cupboard.
It takes about 3 days to have usable sprouts.

HTH

newleaf

I sprout them, and I also have a recipe somewhere for mung dhal which is very, very yummy. I've got to go to work now, but I'll post it this evening if you're interested.

Rad

Thanks for the help. I'll try sprouting some tonight, I've got 500g so I can probally try out everything and still have some left over.

Noozan

Sprout them for beansprouts. Or....soak in plenty of cold water overnight, along with some aduki beans (about a large handful of each) and the put in a pan with some fresh water, bring to the boil, simmer until very soft, add a handful of sugar and stir to dissolve. Eat hot or chill and eat cold....I love pouring this mix into ice lolly moulds and eating as an iced lolly. :drool:

Katharine

A nice bean salad with some dressing?

newleaf

Ok, Mung Dhal, here goes:

8oz Mung beans
2 pints water
5oz butter
1 tbsp Cumin seeds
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, creamed
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar

Simmer the beans in the water for 45 minutes, covered with a lid. The beans should be tender and splitting open.
In a separate pan, melt the butter and gently fry the onion with the cumin seed until the onion is soft and transparent. Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds before stirring in the beans, sugar & salt. Cover and cook for about 25 mins on a low heat, adding a little water if necessary. Serve with Indian bread or rice, pickles and chutneys.

spaghetti_monster

well I put them into soak the day before yesterday to cook the next day, but with one thing and another I did not get round to cooking them.

Now many of them have split open and some have little shoots coming out. The water looks a bit bubbly on the top.

Can I still eat them like this?? The original plan was to boil them and then make a big salad, but maybe something else would be better??

Thanks!!!
Alex x

thriftlady_2

If they've started sprouting shoots why not let them carry on and grow some beansprouts ?

Drain them, and put them in a jar. Put a piece of muslin/curtain net/ old tights over the jar secured with a rubber band and put it in a dark place (I just put mine in a kitchen cupboard).About 3 times a day rinse the sprouts with water by running the tap through the muslin.As yours have already started sprouting it will only take a couple of days to get a bowl full of sprouts.