Easy Mung Bean Cake

Prepare 1 jin (about 500 g) of mung beans and soak them in warm water. I changed the warm water several times as it cooled. If you don’t have time to change the water, just soak them longer. Once the mung beans absorb water, soften, and you feel you can split them with your fingers, steam them. After the water comes to a boil, steam for about 20 minutes, until the mung beans are larger, softer, and their skins split open.

After steaming, put the mung beans into a blender/food processor, add a little cooled boiled water, and blend into a smooth, fine paste.

Because water is added when blending, the mung bean paste will be somewhat thick and sticky.

Cut the butter into pieces and heat it in a hot pan until melted.

Put the blended mung bean paste into a nonstick pan, add granulated sugar, and mix thoroughly with the butter. It’s best to add the sugar gradually so you can adjust the sweetness to your taste. You can use more butter for a richer aroma and smoother texture. When heating, stir constantly to avoid burning the part that stays in contact with the bottom of the pan for too long. Don’t stir-fry the paste until it’s too dry, otherwise the mung bean cakes may crack after they cool.

Finally, press the mung bean paste into molds to shape the cakes. Because I used quite a lot of butter, I didn’t grease the molds again. The mung bean cakes taste even better after being chilled in the refrigerator.