Mung beans with their shells removed are made into a paste that has a more overtly mealy texture and bean-like flavor than red bean paste, but with similar applications.

My favorite mode of mung bean is that in its sprouted form (dou ya), available in most Chinese green grocers. But you can also grow your own by simply soaking dried mung beans overnight, letting them germinate in a damp, dark place for a few days (depending on how big you like your sprouts) and rinsing them every 12 hours.

These succulent sprouts are wonderful in a crisp Asian-style salad with cold shredded poached chicken, grated carrot and cucumber and a grated ginger, lemon juice, rice vinegar and coriander dressing.

Soybeans are most frequently used to make tofu or soybean milk in China, but the unadulterated soybean should not be overlooked. In Japanese cuisine, these are steamed in their pods and served with a little salt as an appetizer called edamame.

I generally blanch soybeans before adding them either to salads or black rice as a colorful accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish. They can also be salted and fermented to produce the black beans (dou chi) used to make black bean sauce. These beans have a wonderfully strong, almost yeasty flavor, and are often paired with fish and ribs to good effect.

Liu Junfeng Unprocessed beans share similar nutritional traits. They contain large amounts of oligosaccharides - a type of starch indigestible to humans that acts as a pre-biotic (food for the friendly bacteria in your gut). Oligosaccharides help maintain overall bowel health, relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms and reduce risks of colon cancer.

What should be borne in mind by those less accustomed to bean eating is that they might experience unaccustomed flatulence and gas as a result of friendly bacteria-produced methane.

Savory bean dishes in Chinese cuisine, however, often include what are known as carminatives, such as fennel, cumin, anise and coriander, which reduce antisocial side effects.

Beans, in addition, are a rich source of protein (although less so in their sprouted form), which is why they are a favorite with vegetarians and vegans. Low in fat, beans have been proved, in combination with a heart-healthy diet, to significantly lower cholesterol levels.

(China Daily 06/11/2008 page19)