Mung Bean Soup

This hearty and wholesome mung bean soup offers a savory broth infused with garlic and onions and is served with delightfully chewy botan rice and fresh tatsoi greens.

Course Soup

Prep Time 8 15

Cook Time 30

Servings people

Calories 2005

Author Timothy Pakron

Ingredients

1 pound whole dried mung beans plus water to soak and cook
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion diced
Pinch sea salt
4 fat garlic cloves thinly sliced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Tamari to taste
1 bunch fresh tatsoi or any leafy green such as spinach or kale
1 bunch scallions thinly sliced

Instructions

Soak the mung beans: Place the mung beans in a medium bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Leave on the counter for at least 8 hours until fully soaked and plump. Drain and rinse well. Set aside.
Cook the mung beans: In a medium pot, add the drained mung beans and cover with about 2 inches of water. Add a big pinch of salt and mix well. Place over high heat and cook, uncovered, until at a boil. Scrape off any white foam that appears and continue to cook until the beans are tender. (This should take around 20 minutes but give them a taste to see. You want them to be tender while still holding their shape.) Once done, turn off the heat and set aside.
Bake the rice: While the mung beans are cooking, follow the instructions for my Easy Baked Rice to make one batch using Calrose Botan Rice as the variety. The total bake time will be 35 minutes. Once done, set aside until ready to serve.
Cook the onions and garlic: Place a large pot over medium-high heat and drizzle in the oil. Once hot, add the onions plus a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every so often, until soft and tender. Then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
Add the mung beans: Transfer the cooked mung beans with the cooking liquid into the large pot of cooked onions and garlic. Depending on how much cooking liquid there is, you may need to add some more water to get the right consistency. You want it to be a hearty, brothy soup but not too liquidy. Find a balance that feels good to you by adding an additional cup of water at a time.
Bring to a boil and season: Once everything is combined, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to low and add the vinegar and a splash of tamari. Give the soup a taste and add more of each, if desired.
Serve the soup: Once the soup is seasoned to your liking, grab a handful of desired greens. If they are larger pieces, roughly tear them. Add them directly to a bowl. Then add a scoop of cooked rice and a big pinch of sliced green onions. Pour the hot soup over everything and mix. Enjoy immediately!

Notes

I love adding kombu to my beans to help make them easier to digest and for added flavor. If you have some, throw in a piece about the size of a sticky note when you are first cooking the beans. Once at a boil, remove the kombu and continue on with the recipe.

For the onions and garlic, you can also use avocado or sunflower oil.

If you don't have rice vinegar, you can also use plain white vinegar.

Feel free to use any rice variety for this recipe! Short grain brown would be an excellent option. You could also use quinoa or millet.

Nutrition