Mung Beans

Mung beans are small, olive-green pulses native to South and Southeast Asia, where they’ve been cultivated for thousands of years. They’re one of the most versatile legumes in the kitchen — eaten whole in soups and curries, split into dal, ground into flour for crepes and sweets, sprouted for bean sprouts, or processed into starch for glass noodles.

Whole dried mung beans cook relatively quickly compared to other dried legumes, especially if soaked first. They have a mild, slightly sweet, starchy flavour that works in both savoury and sweet dishes. In Indian cooking, they’re used for moong dal and kitchari. In Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking, sweetened mung bean paste appears in desserts, buns, and mooncakes.

In Australia, mung beans are stocked in supermarkets, health food stores, and Asian grocers. They’re sold whole (green-skinned), split (yellow), or as flour. They store well in a cool, dry pantry for months.