Many people have heard that when cooking mung beans, the green broth has the strongest effect in preventing heatstroke and clearing heat, while the detoxification of heavy metals mainly relies on the beans themselves. Previous research by the College of Food Science at China Agricultural University also found that the heatstroke-preventing and cooling effect of mung beans is mainly present in the bean skin. However, everyone also has the experience that mung bean soup changes color easily. The soup is emerald green when first cooked, but it starts to change color as soon as it's poured, turning from green to yellow, then red, and finally presenting a dark red color. Even with traditional "tricks" like adding alkali, the mung bean soup cooked by most people is not very aesthetically pleasing, with a dark color and a turbid texture.
How can you cook mung bean soup without it turning red? In the course of our laboratory research, we accidentally discovered the secret to cooking mung bean soup without it turning red:
Whether the mung bean soup changes color or not depends on the water quality. If you use purified water to cook mung bean soup, it not only appears emerald green when poured out, but it will not change color even after a long time, remaining emerald green. This is related to both the pH of the water and the trace ions it contains. The tap water in the north is alkaline, and the mung bean soup changes color very quickly after being cooked; you can see a significant color change within two minutes after pouring out the soup.
However, it is also possible to keep the mung bean broth green when using tap water. As long as you add a little lemon juice or white vinegar to adjust the pH, it will be much better. The key is not to add too much, and certainly not to make the water taste sour; just adjust it to a pH of 6. Once the water is adjusted, cook the mung bean broth, and it will be less likely to change color. Even after half an hour of storage, it can still maintain a nice green color.
Antioxidant capacity tests have shown that the antioxidant properties of the red broth are significantly lower than those of the green broth. The redder the bean soup, the lower its antioxidant capacity. Adding alkali to cook mung beans will reduce the antioxidant activity of the mung bean soup, and it will also seriously destroy the various B vitamins that are originally abundant in mung beans. When a small amount of salt is added to the mung bean soup, the antioxidant properties are slightly increased.
The method for cooking mung bean soup is to first bring the water to a boil, then add the mung beans, and continue to simmer over low heat for 8-10 minutes. Pour out the clear broth for testing. The remaining beans can be cooked into mung bean paste, or cooked with rice to make mung bean porridge.
Having talked about the clear mung bean broth, let's now discuss the basic nutritional value of mung beans.
1. The protein content of mung beans is 20%, which is three times that of rice, and the protein is rich in lysine. Mung bean protein also has the characteristic of binding with heavy metal ions, which is the source of its detoxification function. Both the clear mung bean broth and the mung bean paste have health value, so you should not throw away the beans just because you have drunk the broth.
2. The starch in mung beans is digested slowly, causing a slow rise in blood sugar, making it suitable for diabetics without diarrhea or indigestion problems. In addition, animal experiments have shown that mung bean starch helps control blood lipids. Therefore, patients with hyperlipidemia can often eat mung bean porridge and mung bean rice in the summer.
3. Mung beans are high in B vitamins and potassium. In the summer, sweating causes a large loss of sodium, which can be replenished from various foods containing salt; but the lost potassium and B vitamins can be replenished from mung bean soup. Drinking mung bean soup in the summer has a much better effect of replenishing fluids, quenching thirst, clearing heat, and relieving irritability than drinking iced sweet drinks.
Finally, as a gift for everyone, here is a healthy summer drink: Honey Soybean and Mung Bean Milk
1 soy milk machine, 50 grams of soybeans (soaked for 8 hours before use), 50 grams of mung beans, add 1000 ml of purified water, blend in the soy milk machine until smooth, and add 2 tablespoons of honey to mix and drink.
It has multiple effects such as replenishing water, protein, starch, B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, dietary fiber, and antioxidants. It is suitable for drinking when the weather is hot and appetite is poor and intake is insufficient. However, just like mung bean soup, no food should be consumed in excess. This soybean and mung bean milk is the same; two cups are enough.