THE CHINESE BEANS - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 71

them the same attention as snap beans and you'll be well rewarded. Provide plenty of
moisture and side-dress with compost and a little fertilizer, or diluted fish-and-seaweed
fertilizer, when the small yellow flowers start to form pods.
How to Harvest
For fresh beans. To eat mung beans in the pod, gather the immature pods very early,
before the seeds have more than barely defined themselves.
For dried beans. To harvest beans for drying, let the pods mature completely and let
the plants dry. The pods will curve slightly, and the beans inside will be olive green. (To
dry, see the directions on page 74.)
Varieties
Mung beans come green or golden. (The so-called black-seeded mung is a different
variety, but it can be used in most of the same ways.) Dates to maturity vary greatly
depending on the variety, anywhere from 90 to 120 days.
CULINARY USES
The basic flavor of mung beans is pleasant and a little bland, so they take on the flavors
you add to them and contribute their own interesting texture.
YOUNG PODS . If you harvest the young pods, cook them like snow peas and use in
soups, stir-fry dishes, and sukiyaki.
SIMPLY SHELLED . You must remove mature beans from their pods. Once shelled, boil
until tender and season lightly with soy sauce and ginger.
PURÉED . The consistency of the beans is slightly sticky, so they lend themselves espe-
cially well to bean cakes or a purée. You can also:
• Season the purée with Chinese ingredients.
• Season with garam masala and minced chilis, for an Indian flavor, then simmer
or bake for 20 to 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.