What is mung bean cake?
Mung bean cake is a simple, eggless cake made with mung beans. It is a traditional Chinese dessert made from mung beans, sugar, and other ingredients. Mung bean in general, is a common ingredient in Chinese cooking, Chinese people use Mung bean in a variety of ways.
Mung bean cakes（绿豆糕）are common in China and can be found easily at most bakeries or supermarkets. This tasty, nutritious paste can be made at home with just a few ingredients, and less than an hour of cooking time.
Mung bean cake is made from soaked dried split mung beans that are mashed into a paste before being cooked until they become soft and fluffy.
Ingredients
There are only 4 ingredients in this recipe: , sugar, stuffing (optional), and butter. I usually soak the raw mung bean overnight and use a rice cooker to cook them for a quick and easy dessert. You can also boil them or use a pressure cooker to cook them, and then blend them into a paste.
The mung beans are the main ingredient. They are sold as whole beans or split into halves or skinless. I am using the skinless mung bean in this recipe.
Mung Beans are high in protein and fiber so they're great for you! They also have a lot of health benefits such as reducing cholesterol levels and helping to control blood sugar levels. If you're not familiar with them yet I'd highly recommend trying this recipe out because it's super delicious!
How to make mung bean cake
Mung beans are small green beans with rounded ends. They're often used in Asian desserts or soup. To make the bean paste, you'll cook the mung beans until they're soft enough to blend. Then, you'll mash it with your spatula, and add sugar and melted butter to give the mixture a sweet flavor.
To get started making your own mung bean paste:
- Soak the raw skinless mung bean in cold water overnight. Use a rice cooker to cook the soaked mung bean.
- In a large bowl, use a spatula to mash the cooked mung bean to a smooth form, so they can stick together.
- In a nonstick pan, add butter and cook until it melts, and then combine the cooked mung bean paste and sugar gradually.
- Pour batter into an 8-inch baking pan or you can line it with parchment paper (you may need two pans for this amount of mung bean paste).
- Add flavor and shape it into many small balls.
- Lastly, use the mold to shape the mung bean cake! Now, this cake is delicious and perfect to eat cold as it is. It also freezes very well, so if you have leftovers, you can always stick them in the freezer for later!
Cake Color
I divided the mung bean paste into 3 even portions. I use one for cocoa flavor for a brown color, one for Mocha green tea flavor for a green color, and one for the original flavor (I use 3 drops of pink food coloring). I also added a small amount of red bean paste as stuffing for the Mocha green tea cakes in this recipe.
You can add your favorite flavor to the mung bean dough. If you prefer to avoid food coloring, you can always use natural food coloring to replace it. Whatever color or flavor you end up making, you will not regret it, although the natural flavor of mung bean cake is great all by itself.
Conclusion
This recipe makes for a great everyday snack. What do you think? I am happy to hear from you! Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Mung Bean cake
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried split mung beans skinless, about 2 cups
- ¾ cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon red bean paste for stuffing, optional
- 2 teaspoon cocoa powder optional
- 2 teaspoon Mocha green tea powder optional
- 1 teaspoon pink food color optional
Instructions
- Soak the dried split mung bean in cold water overnight. Drained well before using.
- Use a rice cooker to cook the soaked mung bean.
- In a large bowl, use a spatula to mash the cooked mung bean to a smooth form, so they can stick together.
- In a nonstick pan, add butter and cook until it melts, and then combine the cooked mung bean paste and sugar gradually over low heat. Remove from heat once dissolved and let cool completely.
- Pour batter into an 8-inch baking pan or you can line it with parchment paper (you may need two pans for this amount of mung bean paste).
- Add flavor and shape it into many small balls.
- Lastly, use the mold to shape the mung bean cake!
- Serve and enjoy!
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