Wash the beans(豆dòu), bring them to a quick boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Done. The soup is clear and green. You can drink the soup and leave the beans. 

 

Li Shizhen(李时珍Lǐ Shízhēn), a pharmacologist(someone trained in the science of drugs (their composition and uses and effects)) in the Ming Dynasty, identified medical functions of mung beans and recorded them in “Ben Cao Gang Mu”(“Compendium of Materia Medica”), a classic of TCM pharmacopoeia.

Li said the little cooked bean could help relieve edema, clear internal heat and toxins, relieve heat stroke and thirst, calm the nerves, reinforce yuan qi, harmonize the organs and nourish the skin.

Mung beans can be ground into powder for internal or external use, treating skin ulcers and burns by expelling toxins. Mung bean starch is also made into glass noodles.

Mung bean skin helps dispel pathogenic heat and improve eyesight. Mung bean sprouts are said to help relieve alcoholic intoxication.

Mung bean soup and congee are the conventional ways to eat the bean, but how you cook it is important.

As the bean skin helps expel pathogenic heat, don’t overcook.