Summer Breeze & Mung Bean Ice Lolly, Thai Style

One of my locally nostalgic ice pops, a feel-good remedy for these hot & steamy days!:) 

According to Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, mung bean is considered a cooling (yin) food, with sweet and astringent tastes, and have a nourishing, cleansing and balancing effect. Plus with its excellent source of protein & dietary fiber, high in iron, vitamins A, C & E and low in saturated fats. A natural remedy for health & beauty.

It's such a lovely idea to enjoy mung bean ice lolly and mildly sweet mung bean soup with a hint of ginger, alone or with ice during hot summer days, especially in April, known as the hottest month in Thailand...to cool off from the heat...:)

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of the winter to give it sweetness?"
--John Steinbeck

The grass seems greener around me... The sky is bluer...The sun shines brightly... 
A magical elixir...A renewed sense of hope, optimism & possibility I feel today...
and...one of my fav. retro holidays love songs: Summer Breeze...
what a lovely song! :)
See the curtains hangin' in the window
In the evening on a Friday night
A little light a-shinin' through the window
Lets me know everything's all right

Summer breeze makes me feel fine
Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind
Summer breeze makes me feel fine
Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind
[...]
Sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom
July is dressed up and playing her tune
And I come home from a hard day's work
And you're waitin' there
Not a care in the world

See the smile awaitin' in the kitchen
Through cookin' and the plates for two
Feel the arms that reach out to hold me
In the evening when the day is through
[...]

Chinese Medicine believes that the external environment has a strong influence on the body. For example, in a hot summer the body will absorb more heat from its external environment. If the body cannot release this heat, physical changes may occur, including: body will feel hot, red face, very thirsty, dry skin, constipation, lack of energy, headache, dizziness.

For the hot seasons, Traditional Chinese Medicine recommends foods that are cooling in nature, can balance the body’s Yin & Yang and can release the heat. These types of foods should be a part of the daily diet during the summer.

One of the very old traditional Chinese books, Kai Bao Ben Cao, mentions that mung beans act more on the Heart channel and clear heat and toxins from the skin, and cool heat in the blood. Therefore, mung beans can help acne and other skin symptoms, such as the common skin rash, cold sores, mouth ulcers, pimples and boils. To help these conditions, mung bean soup should be thick in consistency and at room temperature.

Modern science now also considers that mung beans can help clear toxins from the body, including environmental toxins and chemicals. (source: www.pingminghealth.com)

Ingredients:

One package (approximately 200g) of Mung Beans

1 litre of drinking water

a pinch of salt

50 g fresh ginger, washed and peeled (or 2 sachets ginger powder)

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1 tablespoon cane sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Easy How To:

• Wash mung beans in a mesh basket, and drain. 
• Transfer the beans into a large pan or wok, using low heat. Dry-roast the mung beans for 5 minutes or until light brown...to get full-bodied aroma...oh, how I love it!
• Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with 1 litre water, ginger and dry-roasted mung beans. Bring to boil and reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer-cook for about 35-45 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. *Add more water as needed to maintain desired consistency. The bean's coating will start to spilt as it is cooking. If foam forms on the surface, skim it off and discard.
• Add in sugar and stir gradually until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add salt. Taste...then turn off the heat.
• Leave to cool. Ladle the soup into ice lolly molds and freeze overnight.
  Note***Some people may like it with milky version by adding soy milk or cereal milk or coconut milk or condensed milk in the soup before freezing it. For me?, no thanks! :)