Homegrown Mung Bean Pod Surprised us both! Some of you will remember the sprouts we used as wedding reception favors / centerpieces back in August-- this little guy is from one of the extra batches. I had stuck the extra plants in jars of water all summer, so I didn't expect them to thrive too much. That's why it was such a surprise when one morning Max looked at the plants on our window sill and found this sweet little pod. I've never seen a mung bean pod before!
It's always somewhat of a shock to discover the secret life of foods. You think you know a food, but really, you only know its market or processed form. Take mangos as an example-- it wasn't unti I saw a bunch of heavy green things hanging from long, green, umbilical cord-like stems all over a tree in Vietnam that I got a more complete picture of a mango. A mango is not a mango is not a mango after all.
Likewise, when I think of mung beans, I think of it as the star of a sweet Chinese dessert soup or as a co-star with glutinous rice in a zongzi, a rice dumpling tightly bound in bamboo leaves. I definitely picture its sprout form, without which a bowl of pho is just not as good. But what happens beyond the sprout phase? Here are some photos of them from seed to pod, just so you know.
Dry mung beans prior to soaking
Hulls start splitting after one day of soaking. Volume doubles.
Little root ends become longer. At this point you can eat them (split hulls removed by me)
The sprout's cotyledons and stems turn purple and big leaves start to sprout
Immature mung bean plant leaves.They're longer than they are wide
Leaves become rounder as plant matures
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