Mung Bean Popsicles

Beans are a staple in every country’s cuisine, but have you ever tried them in a sweet dish? Even though we know that some of you will be quite psyched about these Mung Bean Popsicles, we’re willing to bet that the vast majority of you will not even consider them.

Did you know that eating mung beans during the sweltering summer months will help you feel cooler internally? This is a common belief in traditional Chinese medicine. That’s why I think they suddenly disappeared from the Asian grocery store near me.

NOTES FOR COOKS

Did you notice that glutinous rice flour is a key ingredient in this dish? Although it may sound strange, doing so keeps the popsicles from solidifying. Glutinous rice has been added to the popsicles so that they are easier to bite into without breaking a tooth or two.

There’s another interesting detail about preparing these popsicles that’s crucial to know. Sweet foods lose some of their sweetness when frozen. In this dish, I poured in 8 ounces of sugar. It had a pronounced sweetness before freezing, but the effect was muted afterward. This was perfect for me, but keep this in mind as you experiment with other sugar amounts to find your sweet spot.

INGREDIENTS:

• 285g of dried mung beans
• 225g of rock sugar granulated sugar
• 9 ½ cups of cold water
• 2½ tablespoons of sweet rice flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. The dried mung beans need to be washed in a colander. Place in a large bowl and cover with 9 cups of water. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
2. Before setting aside, dissolve the glutinous (sweet) rice flour in the half cup of cold water.
3. Add the sugar after two hours, cover, and bring to a boil. When the mung beans have boiled, reduce the heat and let them simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, or until they are mushy, but most of them have retained their shape.
4. Beans that are a bit older will take longer to cook than those that are fresh. In certain cases, you might not need the full 30 minutes to cook the mung beans to the correct consistency, depending on what you have. Don’t let them get too soft by overcooking.
5. The next step is to bring the liquid to a boil before stirring in the sticky rice flour. Quickly mix everything together and remove from heat. One cup of the cooked beans should be removed, scooped, and placed aside to cool.
6. The beans in the mung bean soup can be broken down without turning the soup into a mush by waiting for it to cool completely before adding it to a blender and pulsing it a few times. Let’s get to work making the popsicles!
7. To make the popsicles, place a small amount of the cooked beans you set aside earlier at the bottom of each mold (the popsicle’s point), and then fill the rest of the mold with the blended mung bean soup, making sure to leave at least 1/8 inch of headspace between the surface of the liquid and the top of the mold.
8. When finished filling the molds, tap each one gently against a tabletop 10 times to release the trapped air.
9. After inserting the popsicle sticks, cover the molds and place them in the freezer for at least 6 hours, or until solid.
10. After two or three minutes of defrosting time on the counter after being removed from the freezer, the popsicle mold can be removed from the freezer. The day has come when they can be extracted without much difficulty.
11. Keep them in the freezer in a plastic bag, each one sealed!