Green Bean Soup

by wiffy on May 21, 2008
(find me @ twitter . facebook . flickr)

in Desserts, Recipes

This is an easy Chinese soup dessert that is cooling and sweet, so it is suitable for the HOT-rible weather in Singapore right now. Green beans (or some call ‘mung beans’) are considered by Chinese as a ‘cooling’ food, and some believe it is a good alternative home remedy for acne (maybe it works by bringing down the body heat?). I just love making this because it’s so easy and tasty.

Note: I heard that females should avoid consuming this during ‘that time of the month’ as this is too cooling and may cause heavier flows =x

Green Bean Soup
Green Bean Soup 绿豆汤
(with gingko nuts & sago)

Green Bean Soup
Close up

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

- 125g Green Beans (aka mung beans) – soaked overnight and drained
- 2 Pandan (aka Screw Pine) Leaves, dried ends cut, tied in a knot
- 1.25 litres water
- 50g rock sugar
* 3 small pieces of dried orange (tangerine) peel
* 50g canned lotus seeds or gingko nuts
* 1/3 cup sago (small tapioca pearls)

* are optional items

Directions
1. Place water, orange peel and pandan leaves in a pot and bring to boil.
2. Reduce the fire, add beans and lotus seeds/gingko nuts and simmer, partially covered, for about 30-50 minutes (or till beans are soft). Add some hot water if needed. Add sugar to taste during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.

3. Read below only if you are adding sago.
(credits: The following technique of making the perfect tapioca pearls is taken from Jaden of Steamy Kitchen when I was recipe-testing for her new cookbook. Thanks Jaden!!)

Soak tapioca pearls in cold water for 20 minutes. The pearls will expand and turn bright white. Drain. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. When water boils, turn off heat and add the drained tapioca pearls and stir constantly for 1 1/2 minutes, or until the pearls are translucent with a very small white center. Taste the tapioca, it should be soft but not goopy. Drain the tapioca in fine mesh sieve and run cold water through the sieve to stop the tapioca pearls from cooking further. Swish with your hands to make sure that the pearls at the bottom of the sieve have a chance to cool down. Drain and add to the green bean soup.

===

grow_your_own_seeds_150

This is my first entry for Grow Your Own, featuring my home-grown pandan leaves. I stay in a flat (apartment) and I grow mainly edibles, in small pots along the corridor. My tiny current collection includes chili padi, mint, curry leaves, coriander, capsicum, rosemary … & pandan leaves of course. I’m taking part in this event to remind myself to take better care of my plants, after killing SEVERAL since I started my growing-edibles hobby =x It’s handy to have a pot of pandan leaves nearby, as you can snip the leaves only when you need them (versus many other edibles that need to be harvested) and you won’t ever need to buy a HUGE pack from the supermarket whenever you need just 1-2 leaves. Convenient and saves money. For those who’s inexperienced in gardening like me, here’s the good news – Pandan is one of the most easy plants to care for, seeming to thrive in neglect. Having said that, I must admit that I almost killed my current one after chopping off its roots and transplanting them to another pot … My fingers are so not green, heh. Anyway, hope to take part in more GYO events in future! ;)

pandan leaves
My home-grown pandan leaves (when it’s in better days)

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{ 15 trackbacks }

Grow your own: eggplants | NoobCook.com
July 21, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Tau Suan (Split green bean soup) | NoobCook.com
October 13, 2008 at 4:01 pm

{ 15 comments… add your comment }

1 Boon May 22, 2008 at 12:12 am

Yay, I was lucky to have a few bowls of this yummy desert. :D I love the sago in it.

Reply

2 didally May 22, 2008 at 11:20 am

Your green bean soup have so many treasures in there! The weather is indeed unbearable. :?

My plants are like dying soon. :| Your pandan looks great. :up:

Reply

3 tigerfish May 22, 2008 at 3:28 pm

I definitely don’t have green fingers =O

BTW, I have a 绿豆汤 post still sitting in my drafts. But it’s “ta-pow” from some dessert stall here. They mix it with barley…very nice when cold. Cold and “cooling”…beats off all the heat, right?

Is that bowl from Ikea? hee heee..

Reply

4 Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) May 22, 2008 at 10:48 pm

Goodness, is that really a dessert? I’ve never heard of anything like it! So much to learn about Chinese cuisine….

Reply

5 Andrea May 23, 2008 at 5:46 am

I would never have guessed this was sweet! And your pandan does look wonderful in the photo. Here’s to an up-and-coming green thumb! Thanks for sharing a great entry for Grow Your Own!

(My apologies for the previous comment. My toddler was playing on the computer…)

Reply

6 Kevin May 23, 2008 at 9:28 am

Looking at the picture I would not have guessed that this was a dessert. It looks good. Great photos!

Reply

7 Joyce May 24, 2008 at 11:24 pm

I could never fully grasp this heaty/cooling concept. All I know is if it looks yummy, it’s gonna go straight into my tummy. Sago in green bean soup does indeed add a nice touch. Knowing me I’ll eat all the sago beads first. :lol:

Reply

8 We Are Never Full May 25, 2008 at 5:46 am

What an interesting tip for us ladies! Who would of known? This soup looks super healthy.

Reply

9 Coffee and Vanilla May 25, 2008 at 6:47 am

Very interesting, first time I see and hear about those leaves… I tried to grow basil, thyme and mint on my window, but after couple of weeks from purchase, they are loosing all scent and flavour… especially basil :roll:

Reply

10 Susan May 25, 2008 at 8:02 pm

Love pandan. Have never had the leaves, though, only the extract; it smells so pretty and unusual.
Fine photos and a very intriguing recipe. Glad you are feeling better, Wiffy!

Reply

11 wiffy May 26, 2008 at 1:06 pm

Thank you for the nice comments everyone, I appreciate it :XO:

didally:: Hope your plants will recover … they can be quite frustrating sometimes

tigerfish:: Yup, yup, my bowl is from Ikea ;) Look forward to seeing what your ta pow green bean soup with barley looks like, it sounds delish!

Lydia:: I’ve learnt much more about herbs and spices from your blog than you’ve learnt about Chinese foods from mine, lol :wink:

Andrea:: No worries, and thanks for hosting GYO :-)

Joyce:: I can never really comprehend it too. Green beans = cooling, red beans = heaty … aren’t they just beans? :?

Reply

12 My Wok Life August 8, 2008 at 9:20 am

Hi noobcook, I visited your greenbean soup today!

It’s cooked uniquely by adding orange peel. I have done that only for my red bean soup, not yet in green bean.

Thanks for the ideas!

Reply

13 Aunt LoLo April 23, 2009 at 3:56 am

Mmm…that looks so very tasty!! I’ve got a batch simmering on the stove…green beans and a piece of tangerine peel. Nummy!

Reply

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