Name: Sweet Mung Bean Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Geen mung beans; 1/4 cup Dried seaweed; 5 cups Water; 3/4 cup Brown sugar (add to your taste)

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A classic Cantonese luk dau sa (綠豆沙) or green mung bean soup is a sweet dessert that can serve as warm or chill. This instant pot sweet mung bean soup recipe is easy and delicious! No need to presoak beans to make this authentic Chinese mung bean soup.

Love instant pot Asian sweet soup? Check out these red bean soup, taro sago dessert and black glutinous rice dessert recipes.

What is mung bean soup?

Mung bean soup is a Chinese cuisine. Green mung beans can be used to make savory soup like lotus root pork soup or sweet soup.

However, Chinese mung bean soup often refers to sweet soup which is a type of tong sui. It literally translates as sugar water. Also, it is a kind of dessert served after a traditional Chinese banquet.

In Cantonese, green mung bean soup is also called luk dau sa (綠豆沙) or lu dou tang (綠豆湯) in Mandarin.

It can serve as warm or cold. Personally, I like to eat them warm when the weather is cold outside and serve them as cold when the weather is hot like in summer.

What is the difference between green and red mung beans?

Red mung beans are also named adzuki or red beans because the outside skin color is red. On the other hand, green mung beans are called because the outside is green. Adzuki beans are bigger than green mung beans.

What are the functions or benefits of mung bean soup?

In Chinese medicine practice point of view, green mung beans help to reduce ‘hot air’ inside the body to balance ‘qi’, air. Chinese green bean soup is used to cleanse or detox bodies. It helps to reduce pain and prevent heat stroke, especially during summer.

However, this mung bean soup is not good for weak or cold bodies. Besides, remember don’t consume too much because it’s legumes will create gas and make your stomach upset.

What are the ingredients in sweet mung bean soup?

In Hong Kong and Guangzhou people like to make mung bean soup with seaweed and they are sweet dessert soup.

I remember when I travelled to Shanghai, northern China. People did not add seaweeds to mung bean soup and they were less sweet. Besides, they served it in the morning for breakfast with man tao, a Chinese steamed buns.

The main ingredients for this traditional sweet mung bean soup recipe are water, green mung beans, dried seaweeds and brown sugar. Most of the time I use brown slab sugar. If you don’t have it, brown sugar is ok too.

Cooking tips for how to make instant pot Chinese mung bean soup dessert:

Soak and wash dried seaweed for a couple minutes. You can cut them a little bit. Also, if you want to use kombu style seaweed, cut them into strips.
Wash green mung beans, no need to soak them before.
Put beans, water and seaweed into an instant pot pressure cooker. Close lid and vent manual and adjust time for 45 minutes at high pressure and quick release.
Then, add sugar and stir well. You can add more sugar to your taste. I did 3/4 cups of brown sugar.

FAQs:

Do you need to soak green beans before cooking?

When you use a pressure cooker, you don’t need to soak them before. Just wash the green mung beans and put them into an instant pot.

If you are using a top stove or slow cooker, the best is to soak them before. So, it doesn’t take as long to cook them.

What should I do for leftovers?

Normally, I will refrigerate them. And, I eat them as cold or warm them up in a microwave. Also, I like to freeze them as popsicles.

What kind of dried seaweeds do you use?

I prefer to use dried seaweed like miso soup type because it is softer. Some like to use kombu which is an edible kelp. They are in a sheet and a little harder, so it takes longer to soak.

Remember both dried seaweeds require washing and soaking before using.

Instructions for how to make instant pot mung bean soup:

1. First, wash and soak 1/4 cup of dried seaweeds for a couple minutes.

2. Then, wash 1 cup of green mung beans and put them into instant pot.

3. After that, add 5 cups of water into pressure cooker.

4. Add the soaked seaweeds into the instant pot. Close the lid and vent. Push manual button and adjust time to 45 minutes at high pressure. Then, quick release pressure.

5. Put 3/4 cups of brown sugar. (You can add more sugar to your taste.) Mix them well. It's ready to serve as warm or refrigerate them to serve as cold.

Enjoy this simple and tasty instant pot sweet mung bean soup recipe! Also check out these red bean paste, mango popsicles, grass jelly and white rabbit candy ice cream recipes.