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Home / Cuisine / Asian / Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup

Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup

By: 👩‍🦳 Linda · Published: 🖨 June 20, 2011 · Updated: 💻March 4, 2021 · 🗨 60 Comments

Recipe ▼

Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup with a Southeast Asian touch. Pandan leaves, sago, and coconut milk make it even more flavorful.

Delicious Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup.

The Chinese have a whole range of sweet soups. Known as tong sui in Cantonese, these soups are usually served at the end of a meal. They are light and refreshing making them wonderful low fat summer desserts. Most are served warm but some are delicious chilled.

Mung Beans (Green Beans)

Mung beans, also known as green beans are small cylindrical beans with a bright green color. They can be used whole, split, or hulled. Whole beans are usually boiled. They are also germinated to produce bean sprouts. Split and hulled mung beans are light yellow in color and often made into a paste for pancakes or filling. Mung bean starch is extracted to make transparent cellophane noodles, also known as bean threads or glass noodles.

Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup pandan leaves, sago, and coconut milk.

Southeast Asian Influence

Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup is considered cooling and is very easy to prepare. They cook a little faster than red or adzuki beans. The addition of pandan leaves, sago, and coconut milk is a Southeast Asian enhancement to the Chinese original. Please also check out my Sweet Red Bean Soup recipe.

Fragrant Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup.

Tools Used in Making This Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

T-fal Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator Anti-Warp Base Glass Lid Cookware, 12-Inch, Gray
Le Creuset of America Craft Series Medium Spatula – Marseille

Delicious Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup.
5 from 1 vote

Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup

Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup with a Southeast Asian touch. Pandan leaves, sago, and coconut milk make it even more flavorful.
Author : Linda Ooi
Course : Dessert
Cuisine : Chinese
Keyword : mung bean sago soup, sweet mung bean soup
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 38 mins
Total Time 43 mins
Servings : 4
Calories : 498kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup mung beans (rinsed and soaked for at least 2 hours, drained) (220g)
  • ¾ cup brown sugar ** (135g)
  • 6 cups water (1.5liters)
  • 2 pandan leaves (rinsed and knotted)
  • ½ cup sago / tapioca pearls, soaked for 10 minutes, rinsed and drained (40g)
  • 1 cup coconut milk (240ml)

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot, combine mung beans, brown sugar, water, and pandan leaves. Bring to a boil, redude heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until mung bean splits open.
    Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup-4
  • Add sago pearls and coconut milk. Simmer for another 8 minutes or until sago pearls turn translucent. Add a little water if soup gets too thick.
    Sweet Mung Bean and Sago Soup-5
  • Serve warm or chilled.

Notes

**Please adjust sweetness according to taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 498kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @RotiNRice or tag #RotiNRice

NOTE: New pictures were added to this post on April 14th, 2016.

2.2K shares

Categories: 🗂 Asian, Beans & Lentils, Dessert Tags: 📋 Chinese, coconut, mung beans, sago

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Comments

  1. Gertrude says

    June 20, 2011 at 10:53 am

    My mom used to make this sweet soup for us and she will add gula melaka to it. Seeing yours makes me crave for some 🙂

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 20, 2011 at 11:05 am

      Yes, Gertrude, gula Melaka is the best! I am saving mine for another dessert. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Anncoo says

    June 20, 2011 at 11:02 am

    Biren, this is my favorite too! I found you can cook many yummy “thong shui” to my liking 🙂 I must wait at your door step everyday 🙂

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 20, 2011 at 11:06 am

      You are so sweet Ann! I will send it to your house if we live close to each other. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Shilpa says

    June 20, 2011 at 11:12 am

    Never tried a sweet soup before… I like the sound of green beans, so will give this a go too.. sounds really interesting! I love sago…In India we have it cooked with potatoes and peanuts as savoury and with milk and sugar for a dessert. I’ll have to give this soup a go.

    -Shilpa

    Reply
  4. Sanjeeta kk says

    June 20, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Love the healthy and filling lentil soup!

    Reply
  5. Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts says

    June 20, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    Great soup Biren!

    Reply
  6. Adora's Box says

    June 20, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    I love this, Biren. My husband likes it with coconut milk. I like it with milk. Comfort food.

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 20, 2011 at 10:44 pm

      Now and then I get a craving for this soup. I will have to try it with milk next time. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Katherine Martinelli says

    June 20, 2011 at 1:17 pm

    Wow, I have never had anything quite like this, especially for dessert! I loved reading about it. Thanks.

    Reply
  8. tigerfish says

    June 20, 2011 at 5:25 pm

    Mung bean is cooling for summer while red bean warms us up during winter. This is good summer tong sui 🙂

    Reply
  9. Nami @ Just One Cookbook says

    June 20, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    This is one of three kinds of sweet soups at my favorite Chinese restaurant that offers as a dessert. I prefer red beans but I still like this one too! Yummy!! You know everything I want to eat. 🙂

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 20, 2011 at 10:48 pm

      Both the red bean and mung bean soups are delicious. Red beans are considered warming while green beans are cooling and usually eaten when it is hot outside. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Kay Ecker says

    June 20, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    Biren,

    I’ve never had soup like this. It looks so good! I’d never heard of Sago too, thanks for the education:-). Your photo came out beautifully!

    Kay

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 20, 2011 at 10:54 pm

      Sago pearls are similar to tapioca pearls and can be used interchangeably although they are made from different starches. Sago is extracted from the sago palm.

      Reply
  11. msihua says

    June 20, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    That looks delicious! I grew up on a lot of tong sui!! 🙂

    Reply
  12. Jeannie says

    June 20, 2011 at 9:19 pm

    This is another sweet soup that reminds me of childhood days! Unfortunately my boys are not into this so I don’t get to eat this as often as I would like.

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 20, 2011 at 10:55 pm

      My boys are also not too fond of tong sui. I normally make a small batch for hubby and me. 🙂

      Reply
  13. prathibha says

    June 20, 2011 at 9:24 pm

    loved d bowls,soup n presentation…looks yumm

    Reply
  14. torviewtoronto says

    June 20, 2011 at 9:47 pm

    this looks good we have similar sweet soup with mung bean
    this looks flavourful delicious

    Reply
  15. Blackswan says

    June 20, 2011 at 10:04 pm

    Didn’t know this is called mung bean soup 🙂 We just call it green bean soup & hubby loves this. Have u tried adding rice in it? Some people add little grains of rice into this dessert.

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 20, 2011 at 10:57 pm

      Some ingredients are named differently here. I used to call it green beans too. 🙂

      No, I have never tried addig rice to it. I imagine it must be like a porridge.

      Reply
  16. Lindsey@Lindselicious says

    June 20, 2011 at 11:57 pm

    This looks so interesting, I want to try it! Biren you are always introducing me to great new dishes.

    Reply
  17. Jill@MadAboutMacarons says

    June 21, 2011 at 3:35 am

    Biren, thank you for sharing this: I have so much to learn about Chinese cuisine. This sweet soup looks so different – I’d love to try it, warm or cold sounds equally fabulous.

    Reply
  18. denise @ bread expectations says

    June 21, 2011 at 3:51 am

    Hi Biren 🙂

    Green bean soup is hubby’s favourite Asian sweet soup/porridge. He loves it with santan, but I prefer it plain, scented with lots of pandan of course! The texture of your beans looks absolutely perfect. I would love a chilled bowl right now – it’s a sweltering afternoon *phew*

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 21, 2011 at 10:22 am

      Hi Denise! So good of you to visit. I missed you and I hope you are doing well. 🙂

      The weather here continues to be unpredictable. Spring was cold and this summer has been exceptionally rainy. I needed something familiar and this dessert came to mind. This is my mom’s concoction with coconut milk and sago and I love it. Boys are not too keen on tong sui but I’m making it for me. Oh, I can imagine the sweltering tropical heat. Just thinking of it makes me perspire. Definitely a chilled version is preferred over there.

      Reply
  19. Belinda @zomppa says

    June 21, 2011 at 4:31 am

    I never knew how this was made – my dad loves this stuff!

    Reply
  20. Joanne says

    June 21, 2011 at 7:36 am

    I really love the idea of soup as dessert! This sounds incredibly delicious!

    Reply
  21. Peggy says

    June 21, 2011 at 8:42 am

    I don’t think I’ve ever made/eaten a soup with mung beans, but this sounds absolutely delicious! Definitely the perfect thing for a hot summer day =)

    Reply
  22. Tina (PinayInTexas) says

    June 21, 2011 at 10:22 am

    Hmmmm…I love sweet mung bean soup. In the Philippines, we use evaporated milk. Haven’t tried it with sago, but I’m sure it tastes even better.

    Reply
  23. kristy says

    June 21, 2011 at 10:38 am

    You just tempted me to make some tong sui tomorrow. Yummm…. Have a lovely day.
    Kristy

    Reply
  24. Angie's Recipes says

    June 21, 2011 at 10:53 am

    One of the must-have in hot and humid summer days after an afternoon nap!

    Reply
  25. Lyn says

    June 21, 2011 at 11:11 am

    This is one of my favs sweet soup and I always cook this at home if the weather gets too humid or when my hubby or girls had too much heaty food. I don’t add coconut milk but will add some sweet potatoes sometimes if I can get nice ones from the wet market 🙂
    Hey Biren, I think we’re somehow quite alike when it comes to food! I love my mung bean soup hot when just cooked and chilled when the whole pot had cooled down! 😀

    Reply
  26. Lyndsey ~The Tiny Skillet~ says

    June 21, 2011 at 11:40 am

    This looks very interesting, I’ve never had it before. Do you eat it as a dessert? It would be fun to try!

    Reply
  27. Magic of Spice says

    June 21, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    I love mung bean and know I would love this soup! I had something once I believe was similar but it was awhile back and I never tried to recreate it, but this I must 🙂

    Reply
  28. rebecca says

    June 21, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    great soup hubby loves mung dal nice to see a new way of preparing it

    Reply
  29. Parsley Sage says

    June 21, 2011 at 7:33 pm

    This is pretty cool! I’ve never had a dessert soup before. Looks pretty easy to do too 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  30. Lisa H. says

    June 21, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    ahhhhhh….Mung beans porridge… my all time favourite.
    I love everything with mung beans…

    Reply
  31. Manu says

    June 21, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    Such an innovative dessert! I have never had sweet soup like this! It sounds delicious and healthy! Thanks for sharing it Biren! 🙂

    Reply
  32. purabi naha says

    June 22, 2011 at 5:08 am

    Biren, really?! I didn’t know that something like this even exists…we have the usual “dal” always…but this sweet soup sounds so unique!

    Reply
  33. Tiffany says

    June 22, 2011 at 6:55 am

    How interesting! Sounds yummy… also what are pandan leaves?

    Reply
  34. kitchen flavours says

    June 22, 2011 at 8:37 am

    One of my family’s favourites! Love it warm and good when cold too!
    Looks delicious!

    Reply
  35. Pepy@Indonesia Eats says

    June 22, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    Yummm…This is often eaten during Ramadan in Indonesia when people break the fasting. My family used to add jackfruit, banana, buah atap/atap seed and sweet potato or squash 🙂

    Reply
  36. Maya@Foodiva's Kitchen says

    June 28, 2011 at 12:00 am

    Biren, I haven’t had this in a while because I’m waiting for my mum to make it! Can you believe after years of eating this lovely dessert, I have yet to cook it myself? I like it with both pandan and santan flavors, and I like to eat it cold ;-). Gotta call my mum….

    Reply
  37. Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets says

    June 28, 2011 at 11:59 am

    I love sweet mung bean soup though I’ve never tried sago in it. Great idea!

    Reply
  38. Ruby says

    February 11, 2012 at 3:07 pm

    So interesting! Looking at it, I have a hard time imagining that it’s sweet. So different from anything I’ve ever tried – very intriguing. :-)4hd7

    Reply
    • Biren says

      February 11, 2012 at 3:12 pm

      This is my goto dessert when I need something sweet and warm. It is especially good with the coconut milk and sago. The coconut milk is actually optional but I much prefer to add it in.

      Reply
  39. Ruby says

    February 11, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    4hd7 was the captcha code. No idea how it jumped onto the comment form… 😉

    Reply
    • Biren says

      February 11, 2012 at 3:13 pm

      I was wondering about that. I thought perhaps it is a secret code I was supposed to decipher. 😉

      Reply
  40. skip to malou says

    February 12, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    I love mung bean but I haven’t tried it sweet. Though we have a sweet version too but I don’t know why i haven’t tried it so far.
    Im sure I will like this kind too.

    malou

    Reply
  41. vanessa says

    May 29, 2012 at 3:42 am

    how can i tell if the sugar is gula melaka? I live in canada and gula melaka is hard to find!

    Reply
    • Biren says

      June 2, 2012 at 10:40 am

      Gula Melaka usually comes in solid cylinders but unfortunately it is hard to tell if it is not labeled. Any palm sugar or brown sugar would work for this recipe.

      Reply
  42. sailaja says

    February 21, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    Any substitute for pandan leaves as i don’t have?

    Reply
    • Biren says

      February 22, 2013 at 9:25 am

      I am afraid there is no substitute for pandan in this particular recipe. You can certainly omit it totally and it will still taste good though not as fragrant.

      Reply
  43. Amallia @DesireToEat says

    November 5, 2014 at 7:15 am

    This is my favorite, very famous in Indonesia. I always made this at least once a week, perfect for anytime 🙂

    Reply
    • Linda says

      November 8, 2014 at 8:42 pm

      I like to eat it warm during the cold months and chilled during the warm months. 🙂

      Reply
  44. Patl says

    January 16, 2017 at 6:05 pm

    5 stars
    I just made this. Every now and then I crave for my local dessert. My daughter didn’t like it then but today she tried again and ate two bowls of it. She gave me a thumbs up. I added two piece of clove just like the way my mom makes it.

    Reply
    • Linda says

      January 18, 2017 at 8:10 am

      I know what you mean. I will make this or Sweet Red Bean Soup whent he craving hits. Glad to hear your daughter enjoyed it as well. I will try adding the cloves the next time. 🙂

      Reply
  45. SIJUN PAN says

    May 12, 2017 at 7:17 am

    Hi Linda, I am just wondering should I use orange peels to increase the flavour?? and also does the sago become a hard texture after it is refrigerated?

    Cheers,
    Sijun

    Reply
    • Linda says

      May 17, 2017 at 10:44 am

      Orange peels work better with Sweet Red Bean Soup. No, the sago will not become hard since it is immerse in liquid.

      Reply

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My grace is sufficient for thee…
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Hi, I’m Linda! I make quick, easy meals, and spin on classics and old favorites with focus on Malaysian, Chinese, and American cuisines. Read more →

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