This nourishing and filling sprouted mung beans and rice porridge has an amazing satisfying taste. This food is often cooked in traditional Uzbek cuisine but usually cooked with non-sprouted mung beans. So I tried to make it with sprouted mung beans to see how it turns out and it turned out great!
Sprouted ming beans are superior to non-sprouted beans because by sprouting you unlock more nutrients and make them more absorbable. You also eliminate phytic acid, which is an anti-nutrient, which prevents proper nutrient absorption in the body resulting in deficiencies and tooth decay.
At first, I tried to make this dish using soaked mung beans. I soaked the mung beans for 24 hours in filtered water with added apple cider vinegar. Unfortunately, beans did not cook properly remaining hard no matter how long I cooked them.
Usually, to prevent mung beans from hardening you need to add them to cold unsalted water first and then bring to a boil. Mung beans cook soft this way. If you add them to a hot or salted water, they do not soften and will remain hard making them hard to chew. With soaked (unsprouted) mung beans this trick did not work and beans did not soften at all.
Next time I decided to sprout them and the dish turned out great!
How to Sprout Mung Beans (Easy)
Start about 2-3 days before you plan to make this porridge. Rince the mung beans. Pour some warm filtered water over mung beans so that water covers the beans for about 1 inch on top. Add 1 tsp of raw apple cider vinegar to the water with mung beans and gently mix. Cover and leave on the countertop for about 20-24 hours. After that rinse the mung beans and drain the water. Leave the drained mung beans uncovered or covered with a mesh lid for 24-48 hours until they sprout. Rinse 2-3 times a day until mung beans sprout. When they sprout you can place them in the fridge until you are ready to make your sprouted mung bean porridge.
To make the whole process easy, I used a special sprouting glass jar. It is a regular large glass jar with a wide mouth and a mesh lid. I regularly use it to soak and sprout the grains and beans. The most convenient part is that the jar has a wide mouth and it’s special mesh lid makes it easy to rinse and drain. When it’s time for sprouting, you just rinse and drain and leave it like that. When it’s time to rinse, you just fill the jar without even opening the lid and then drain the water through the mesh lid. You can even put the jar upside down to allow the excess water to drain.
Sprouted Mung Beans and Rice Porridge (or Soup) Recipe
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup of dry organic Mung Beans
- 1 cup of organic White Short Grain Rice
- 200 gr of Lamb or Beef (optional)
- 1/2 cup of Unrefined sunflower oil OR Avocado oil OR Coconut oil OR grass-fed Ghee (or any other heat-stable oil)
- 1 medium Onion
- Filtered water (or water and bone broth)
- Sea salt to taste
Topping:
- 1 medium Onion
- 1/2 cup of Salsa or 1 large Tomato
Instructions:
- Start about 2-3 days before you plan to make this porridge. Rince the mung beans. Pour some warm filtered water over mung beans so that water covers the beans for about 1 inch on top. Add 1 tsp of raw apple cider vinegar to the water with mung beans and gently mix. Cover and leave on the countertop for about 20-24 hours. After that rinse the mung beans and drain the water. Leave the drained mung beans uncovered or covered with a mesh lid for 24-48 hours until they sprout. Rinse 2-3 times a day until mung beans sprout. When they sprout you can place them in the fridge until you are ready to make your sprouted mung bean porridge.
- Cut the meat into pieces and fry in a heat-stable oil over medium-high heat for about 1-2 minutes. This time I used lamb meat with bones so I did not cut my meat into pieces leaving the meat attached to the bone. I fried the meat with bones for about 1 minute.
- Add sliced onions and continue frying until onions are soft and transparent.
- Add about 2 quarts of cold water or broth. Immediately add rinsed sprouted mung beans and bring to boil. Boil uncovered until the meat is soft. Add more water if it gets too thick.
- When the meat and mung beans are soft, add washed and rinsed white short grain rice. Add more water if needed. Don’t worry about the extra amount of water, because you will boil it down until desired thickness. The bottom of the pot may burn if there is not enough water.
- Add salt to taste. Continue boiling until desired thickness. Mix periodically to avoid the porridge sticking or burning. If you wish to make a soup instead of a porridge, do not wait till the mixture gets too thick.
- Saute sliced onions in a hot skillet. When the onion is soft and transparent, add the salsa or chopped tomato. Add sea salt to taste. Continue cooking until the mixture gets thicker.
- Serve the porridge with the topping on top. Garnish with cilantro or other herbs to your taste.
