Mung bean (Vigna radiata) Gardening
Mung bean is the seed of Vigna radiata, a species of trailing plant in the family Fabaceae, native to Indian subcontinent. It is also known as mungbean, mung, golden gram, and green gram.
Mung beans are small, bright green, ovoid-shaped seeds commonly used in Asian cuisine. They are used whole, or split and hulled. The split and hulled mung beans are small and yellow in color, and are known as mung dhal in India. Mung beans can be eaten on their own, mixed with rice, combined with vegetables and greens to make hearty soups, or ground into flour and make into delicacies. The spices that work well with mung beans are tumeric, cumin, dried ginger and coriander.
Whole mung beans are generally prepared from dried beans by boiling until they are soft. Mung bean sprouts, or beansprout, are germinated by leaving the watered beans with four hours of daytime light and spending the rest of the day in darkness. The beansprouts can be grown under artificial light for four hours, over a period of one week. Mung bean sprout are usually stir-fried, or used fresh in Asian cuisines.
Mung bean starch is obtained from ground mung beans, and is used to make cellophane noodles (also known as bean thread noodles, bean threads, crystal noodles, and glass noodles). Cellophane noodles are generally sold dried. and become soft when soaked in hot water, then used in soups, stir-fried dishes, or spring rolls. They come in round and available in various thickness. China produces a type of wide, flat, cellophane noodles called mung bean sheet. Cellophane noodles should not be confused with rice vermicelli, which is made with rice flour, and are white color rather than clear (after cooking in water).
Mung beans are packed with protein, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, vitamins A, B, and C, thiamin, and folate.
Mung bean (Vigna radiata)
Author: Sanjay Ach (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
|
