Green Moong Bean

Moong Beans

The Mung bean is a plant species in the legume family. The mung bean was domesticated in India, where its progenitor (Vigna radiata subspecies sublobata) occurs wild. Areas with early finds include the eastern zone of the Harappan Civilisation. Cultivated mung beans later spread from India to China and Southeast Asia. Mung bean has a large market in Asia (India, Southeast-Asia and East Asia) and is also consumed in Southern Europe and in the Southern USA. India accounts for around 60% of the total global moong production.

The mature mooong seeds provide an invaluable source of digestible protein for humans in places where meat is lacking. In southern Chinese cuisine, whole mung beans are used to make a tángshuǐ, or Hong Kong, hulled mung beans and mung bean paste are made into ice cream. Mung bean paste is used as a common filling for Chinese mooncakes in East China, in Indian Kachori and  hopia (or bakpia) popular in Indonesia the Philippines, ginisáng monggó/mónggo is a savoury stew of whole mung beans with prawns or fish. Mung bean sprouts are used in salads, stir-fried, filling in Vietnamese spring rolls, garnish for phở,  char kway teow, hokkien mee, mee rebus, and pasembo,  lumpiang togue.Sprouted mung beans contain fewer calories but have more antioxidants and amino acids.