https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/A4PeQB2Vq1CW8xtc-5KQOA
Everyone is welcome to share their experiences with the medicine in the replies to facilitate other students’ search and learning.
92. Mung Beans
Soaking mung beans in a thermos is quite interesting. The mung beans can burst open, similar to southern-style mung bean soup, but the soup color remains lotus root pink, like northern-style mung bean soup.
Personally, I think northern mung bean soup is inferior to southern mung bean soup, both in flavor and efficacy. I don’t know exactly how this north-south dividing line for mung bean soup was drawn, but the first time I had northern mung bean soup in the cafeteria of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, I was truly surprised. My initial reaction was to tell the server, “This mung bean soup isn’t cooked,” haha.
Later I learned that northern people cook mung bean soup for only 15 minutes before taking it off the heat. At this point, the soup is slightly lotus-pink, and the beans still sink to the bottom.
But actually, mung beans should be cooked for 30–45 minutes. Before they burst open, you should add an appropriate amount of rock sugar or even ordinary white sugar. When the mung bean skin absorbs the sugar water, it becomes crisp, bouncy, juicy, and sweet. Mung bean paste requires even more care. At this stage, the soup turns green with some white spots. After cooling, even without chilling, it’s very tasty.
This is similar to what was mentioned before about “corn soup becoming tastier the longer it is cooked.” In some cases, southern people really do discover more possibilities with food.
Lotus root pink mung bean soup: slightly sweet, mildly replenishes body fluids, shows a clear diuretic effect, but no detoxification function.
Green mung bean soup: without sugar, it is basically not sweet. Its medicinal value is unclear because I don’t drink it without sugar. When sugar is added, it greatly replenishes body fluids, clears heat and detoxifies, and has excellent mild diuretic effects.
92.1 Mung Bean Skin
Chewing it directly has little flavor. Soaked in water, it tastes slightly sweet with a hint of mint-like coolness.
Efficacy: primarily mild diuresis, with almost no heat-clearing, detoxifying, or fluid-replenishing effects.
93. Rehmannia glutinosa (Raw)
Eating it directly is noticeably harder than the cooked Rehmannia, not very sweet, slightly bitter, and has a metallic-like taste, with a bit of crispness when chewed.
Drinking its soaked water provides a cooling sensation from the mouth and neck downwards. It’s a very measured kind of coolness, clearly refreshing but not like the numb frozen sensation caused by drinking ice water directly (this sensation becomes more apparent after cooling the water before drinking).
Efficacy: nourishes blood, cools blood, and stabilizes body fluids.