Beat the Heat with Mung Beans

In China, mung beans are a very popular food, especially in the hot summer months, and grown in almost all the provinces. Most families eat mung beans in their diet and use them widely in different recipes, such as mung bean noodles, mung bean cake, mung bean rice, mung bean soup, mung bean desserts and even mung bean wine. Mung bean soup is an extremely popular dish in the hotter months, as it is used to help cool the body by helping it regulate the body temperature more effectively.

Clearing Heat from the Body

In Chinese medicine, if the weather is very hot, the body may absorb more heat from its external environment. If the body cannot release enough of this ‘summer heat’ by itself, symptoms such as feeling hot and sweaty, lethargic, lack of energy, headache, dizziness, or even heat stroke may occur.

Mung beans have a cooling effect, and they have been shown to regulate body temperature and to help prevent heat stroke. Cooked mung bean drink or soup is best kept refrigerated, which helps to keep it fresh and increases its health effects.

Mung Bean Recipes for Summer Heat or Hot Weather

Recipe 1 (drink)

This recipe is suitable to clear body heat and prevent heat stroke during a hot summer. Drinking two or three cups a day will help to release the ‘summer heat’ from the body.

Ingredients

• 2 handfuls of mung beans
• 7 cups of water

Instructions

1. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat
2. Allow to cool (once cooled it can also be refrigerated)

Drink this thin soup as required. The beans can also be eaten if soft enough.

Recipe 2 (soup)

Takes 40 minutes and serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1 cup mung beans
•  1/4 cup sugar, to taste
•  8 cups water

Instructions

1. Wash and drain 1 cup of mung beans.
2. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.
3. Put mung beans in a separate large pot with enough water to submerge the beans, and bring to a boil. Don’t cover the pot. Let it boil at high heat until the water is almost boiled dry.
4. Pour in 8 cups of boiled water; when the water boils again, turn down to low heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the beans soften and open up. Keep an eye on the pot in case the soup boils over.
5. Add 1/4 cup of sugar to taste and stir well until sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat.
6. Refrigerate the soup for about 2 hours or until chilled.
7. Stir well and serve cold.