Mung Bean Porridge...or maybe Soup?

One of the perks of going to people's homes to tutor their children is the occasional home cooked meal.  Sometimes there are several dishes and sometimes its more simple.  A couple of weeks ago one of my student's parents asked me if I would like some porridge.  It was around eight o'clock and a little late for a big dinner but porridge sounded just right.  It was really just watery rice with beans.  Although very simple I loved it.  The Dad told me it was really easy to make.   He showed me a bag of small green beans.   He said to just cook the beans and add rice.  Sounded easy enough, so the next day I went to the market and found a bag of the "green beans". 

Turns out the English word for them is: Mung Beans.  I haven't cooked a lot of beans in my life but I do know that many of them need to be soaked for a while before you cook them.  Since I was unsure with these I decided to look for some online help.  Turns out there are many Mung bean porridge recipes out there.  Many are from other Asian countries and call for coconut milk and sugar.  I looked at several recipes and decided to put my own spin on it. 

In the end it was nothing like the porridge my student's father gave me.  In fact, I think I liked mine better.  But more importantly, Sam liked it and it didn't have any meat in it!  The next week I told my student's Dad about my porridge.  He looked a little surprised when I told him what I added to it.  He started to tell me that I made it wrong but his wife interrupted him to remind him that I'm western and that its only natural for me to want to change it to my liking.  He accepted this and then went on to tell me the benefits of the mung bean.  Did you know it takes the "heat" out of your body?  I guess that's why this porridge is so popular in the summer.  So for those of you right now in the Sacramento heat you might want to give Mung bean porridge a try.

Here is what I used:
4 or five cups of water (depends on how thick you want your porridge)
1 cup of mung beans
1/2 cup of white rice
1 cup of chicken broth (can also use vegetable broth for you vegans out there)
1 purple onion
1 carrot
2 table spoons of olive oil
a couple pinches of cumin
an 8 ounce can of light coconut milk


Here is what I did:

First, I rinsed the beans a couple of times and let them soak in water for about an hour.  Then I rinsed them again and let soak for another couple of hours.  After rinsing one more time I added more water and turned the burner on high until the water started boiling.  Then I reduced the heat to a simmer.  I let it simmer about twenty minutes and then added the rice and the chicken broth.  After returning to a boil, I reduced the heat and continued to let it simmer.

Then, in a pan I heated up some olive oil, added some cumin, and after about thirty seconds I added some chopped purple onion.  After a couple of minutes I added some chopped carrots.  Once cooked to my liking I added it all to the simmering beans and rice.  I let the whole mixture simmer together for 15 minutes or so and then added a can of light coconut milk.  Once its all hot again its ready to eat!  Oh yes, and don't forget to salt and pepper to taste.  (You can also eat this porridge cold.)

I think you can add anything you like to the porridge.  The one thing I didn't add that almost every recipe added was sugar.  I didn't want my porridge sweet but if sweet porridge is your thing you can even add a teaspoon to your bowl if you feel so inclined.

Words to remember:

lǜ­dòu （绿豆）= mung bean

zhōu  （粥）= porridge, congee

In response

This blog is in response to those that feel my last entry was
"creepy". I'm sorry if it seemed that way. I probably didn't explain
the situation good enough. Here is what I can say about it. The man
was obviously drunk but not gay. I was at times uncomfortable
but that was because he was drunk. Neither Sam nor I
felt like he was hitting on Sam.

You need to understand that in China, (and in many other countries
other than the United States) people are more affectionate with one
another. They might not kiss you on the cheek when they see you (as
they do in France or Italy) but often times girls will interlock arms
or grab your hand when you are walking side by side. I remember my
first day after we moved here. A Chinese friend we had met the day
before took us to buy stuff for the kitchen. As we started to cross
the street she grabbed my hand and didn't let go until we had reached
our destination. At first I felt a little awkward because I hadn't
held hands with another girl since grade school but after a minute it
felt completely natural. Now if I'm walking with friends I wouldn't
think twice about it. Guys too are more open about hugging or
putting their hand on each other's shoulder etc. Sam and I find it
rather refreshing.

Going back to the man in the restaurant, I think he had his wits about
him enough to know that it would be inappropriate to kiss me but he
probably felt giving Sam a peck on the cheek was no big deal. Perhaps
he would have kissed me too had he been a little bit more drunk.  Overall
the situation was more funny than creepy.