Mung Bean Magic

Mung Bean Magic

I couldn’t resist a title like that – even though many people may consider Mung beans a less-than-exciting prospect for dinner. Unless of course you come from India, Thailand, Vietnam and other parts of Asia where this legume is indeed an ingredient in many magically tasty dishes.

In countries like Australia we just don’t utilise Mung Beans quite as much as we could, considering their many health benefits.

Ayurveda considers the Mung bean to be a tri-doshic food, which means it’s balancing for all three doshas. The beans’ enzymatic activity makes them easy to digest even for people with what is called ‘weak digestive fire’.

Western medical studies have also touted their benefits. They appear to help alleviate hypertension as their protein peptides reduce the ACE activity that constricts blood vessels. The beans are also rich in magnesium which provides another cardiovascular benefit. Other studies indicate that eating mung beans improves glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, which is particularly helpful for Type II Diabetes. Research continues to uncover many other beneficial anti-inflammatory effect of the bean, adding more reasons to tuck into them at least once a week!

A good place to start is with sprouting them. They’re the most common form of bean sprouts and so easy to sprout at home, which means you get the full nutritional profile of the super-fresh sprout. When sprouted they’re rich in enzymes that aid digestion as well as assist with detoxification and the proper function of our nervous system.

If you’re going to cook them, like other beans it’s best to soak them for 8 hours or overnight.

Mung beans ready for harvest
Mung beans ready for harvest

Mung Bean Sprouts

1-2 tablespoons Kialla Pure Foods Mung Beans
Water
method
Sprinkle Mung Beans into a glass jar and rinse until water is clean. Cover seeds with warm water. Cover opening of jar with mesh or fine cloth and secure with a rubber band. Invert jar to drain away water and place jar on its side on a dish. Rinse and drain once a day until sprouts have reached desired size. Sprouts will be ready to eat in 3-4 days. Store in refrigerator to halt growth and retain nutritional value.


Sourdough with Mung beans

Most people don’t use mung beans in grain bread due to cost, but they look good in the texture of the loaf. The colour stands out!

Soak Mung Beans Overnight in water. Drain/strain before use.

Bread Ingredients

1000g Kialla White unbleached or Stoneground Flour
400g 
Sour Dough Starter
20g 
Salt
560g Water   (this is approx. and can vary)
120g Soaked Mung Beans*
15g  Green Peppercorns

Method
1. Mix Dough until it’s cleared. Allow to rest 10mins.

2. Scale into desired weigh. Round up, allow to rest 10mins.

3. Mould into desired shape.

4. Prove until ¾ size

5. Bake.

 (* Mung Beans can be blended with Lentils to provide an increased protein and fibre loaf.)

Sourdough breads with mung beans
Sourdough bread made with Mung Beans. Photo courtesy National Baking Industry Association.

 


Warm Sprouted Mung Bean Salad

1 cup dry Mung Beans, sprouted (see above)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tomato, finely diced
2 green chillies, slit through the middle
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp garam masala
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Preparation
1. Heat the oil in a large wok or saucepan

2. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Saute until the onions start to turn golden-brown.

3. Add the garlic and green chillies and saute for a few seconds.

4. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, coriander and cumin powders and cook until the tomato starts to break down but isn’t quite mushy.

5. Add the sprouted Kialla Mung Beans and mix well. Cover and let the beans cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. Stir every once in a while and, if needed, add a couple of tablespoons of water to prevent sticking. You can let the beans cook longer if you want them to be softer. I like mine a little al dente with some crunch to them.

6. Add salt to taste, sugar and the lemon juice. Mix in the coriander leaves.


You’ll find more about Mung Beans over in our product section.

Some references on Mung Bean health benefits:

Chung IM, Yeo MA, Kim SJ, Moon HI. Protective effects of organic solvent fractions from the seeds of Vigna radiate L. wilczek against antioxidant mechanisms. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2011 Aug;30(8):904-9.

Hsu GSW, Lu YF, Chang SH, Hsu SY. Antihypertensive effect of mung bean sprout extracts in spontaneously hypertensive rats. J Food Biochem. 2011;35(1): 278-88.

King DE, Mainous AG 3rd, Geesey ME, Woolson RF. Dietary magnesium and C-reactive protein levels. J Am Coll Nutr. 2005 Jun;24(3):166-71.

Mah E, Noh SK, Ballard KD, Matos ME, Volek JS, Bruno RS. Postprandial hyperglycemia impairs vascular endothelial function in healthy men by inducing lipid peroxidation and increasing asymmetric dimethylarginine:arginine. J Nutr. 2011 Nov;141(11):1961-8.

Meisinger C, Baumert J, Khuseyinova N, Loewel H, Koenig W. Plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein, a strong predictor for acute coronary heart disease events in apparently healthy, middle-aged men from the general population. Circulation. 2005 Aug;112(5):651-7.

Zhang W, Iso H, Ohira T, Date C, Tamakoshi A. Associations of dietary magnesium intake with mortality from cardiovascular disease: the JAAC Study. Atherosclerosis. 2012 Apr;221(2):587-95.

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