Chinese Mung Bean Soup is a traditional Chinese sweet soup. The flavors are simple, and the texture is velvety and creamy. It can be served cold in the summer or warm in the winter.
Can't get enough of Chinese dessert soups? Try my Red Bean Soup next!
๐ฅก About This Recipe
Mung beans are one of my favorite beans to cook with. Not only do they taste great, but they cook super quickly.
There's a common myth that mung beans need to be soaked overnight, but actually, they don't need to at all. Their small size allows them to cook up really fast, usually in under an hour.
In China, mung bean soup is most popular in the summer because it's known to have "cooling" properties. You'll find it in the freezer of almost every street store or simmering in giant pots at Chinese hotpot restaurants.
Growing up, my mom would make this soup as a dessert for large family gatherings. It was always a hit, and no one could resist a second or even third helping. Today, I'm sharing her recipe.
๐ง Ingredients
- Dried Mung Beans: These are tiny legumes, roughly the size of barley. You can buy them in big packs from Asian grocery stores for only $5 or so. If you want it even cheaper, you can buy it from an Indian supermarket (but it will be labeled as moong dal)
- Rock Sugar: Rock sugar is a common sweetener in Chinese desserts. It's slightly less sweet than regular sugar. Personally, I cannot tell the difference in most recipes, but in the honor of respecting my mom's recipe, I'm listing it here as a main ingredient. But feel free to use white or even brown sugar instead.
- Coconut Milk: Some recipes might say adding coconut milk is optional, but I believe it's just as important as the mung beans themselves. It adds so much creaminess, and the flavor complements the earthiness of the beans perfectly. Some restaurants might skip this step to cut costs, but trust me, coconut milk adds that extra touch of luxury.
- Water: Of course, we will need some to simmer the beans.
๐ช Instructions
STEP 1: Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the mung beans and rock sugar. Stir until the rock sugar dissolves, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir it occasionally to prevent the mung beans from sticking to the bottom.
STEP 2: Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender to blend about half of the beans until smooth.
STEP 3: Stir in the coconut milk, then bring it back to a boil. Reduce the heat and then simmer for another 30 minutes. The soup should thicken slightly from the exposed starches.
At this point, you can serve it immediately or refrigerate it until it's cold. The soup keeps for about five days in the fridge.
๐ Recipe
Chinese Mung Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup mung beans
- โ cup rock sugar (or white sugar or brown sugar)
- ยฝ cup coconut milk (see notes)
Instructions
- Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the mung beans and rock sugar. Cover and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender to blend about half of the beans until smooth. Add the processed beans back to the pot.
- Stir in the coconut milk, then bring it back to a boil. Reduce the heat and then simmer for another 30 minutes. The soup should thicken slightly from the exposed starches.
- At this point, you can serve it immediately or refrigerate it until it's cold. The soup keeps for about five days in the fridge.
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