cantonese: luk dau
hindi: moong dal
mandarin: lu dou
vietnamese: dau xanh
whole mung beans are green in color, hence the name literally meaning "green bean" in most east asian languages. in some east asian and south asian markets you can also buy split mung beans (simply split in half) or hulled, split mung beans (split in half with the shell or skin already removed; these are yellow in color).
in east asia, mung beans are sometimes cooked in congee or soup, boiled to make a sweet drink, sprouted, steamed with sticky rice, or ground into a paste and used in various steamed cakes, buns, etc.
indian cooks also use mung beans (in hindi "moong dal"), often by cooking them just like any other beans/lentils, or sometimes by grinding them into a powder and forming little "cakes" (called vada) to cook in curries.
return to the veggie asia home page