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Mung Bean Cooling Soup: A TCM Kitchen Remedy and How to Make It

mung bean cooling soup recipe tcm food therapy
By the TCMHH editorial team Not medically reviewed How we work Updated 6 Oct 2026
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This one comes straight from the everyday medicine of Chinese kitchens. Mung Bean Cooling Soup is the kind of thing a grandmother makes without measuring, and the amounts below are how practitioners describe it in a clinic.

What it is for

Traditionally this drink is used for internal heat, summer thirst. In pattern language that means it suits the cold or stagnant side of the spectrum, not the hot, dry side.

The main players: Green tea.

How to make it

Simmer half a cup of mung beans in six cups of water until the skins split, sweeten lightly if at all, and drink cooled. Do not simmer it to mush, the greenish broth is the cooling part.

A few honest notes

Do not expect fireworks. Food-level herbs act gently, and the benefit shows up over days, not minutes. If your pattern is hot rather than cold, a warming drink like this can push the wrong direction, so stop if you feel more flushed or restless.

None of this replaces a practitioner who can look at your tongue, feel your pulse and ask awkward questions. Use this as background, not as a prescription.

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Sources and further reading

We cite classical materia medica and modern reference works. This article is health education, not medical advice.

  • Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Han dynasty.
  • Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen, 1578.
  • Chinese Pharmacopoeia, current edition — identity, quality and safety monographs.
  • NCCIH and WHO reference material on traditional medicine safety.

Spotted an error or a better source? Tell us — corrections are logged on our editorial policy page.

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