For people in Suzhou, a cup of mung bean soup goes trough the whole summer.
Every summer, the foodies from North and South will quarrel about the same thing – is the mung bean soup red or green? However, in the view of people in Suzhou, it is neither red nor green, but colorful and transparent.
Su-style mung bean soup has more than ten kinds of ingredients, including shredded tangerine skin, glutinous rice, mung bean, melon sugar, candied dates, raisins, kidney beans…… With the refreshing mint water, it will become the best summer drink for people in Suzhou.
In the past, there were only two kinds of ingredients in the traditional mung bean soup in Suzhou–mung beans and lilies. The mung bean soup with shredded tangerine skin, kidney beans and melon sugar was an uncommon “high-grade version” which was for wealthy people at that time.
Although the ingredients in the Su-style mung bean soup have changed, the status and importance of the three mains–glutinous rice, mung bean and mint water, are unchangeable. Soak the mung bean and glutinous rice for six or seven hours in advance, then steam them for 15-20 minutes, and finally release heat.
Boil the mint with crystal sugar to make it gentler. At last, put the mung beans into the mint water and add the shredded tangerine skin, honey beans and melon sugar in it.
In the summer, those mung bean soup shops on streets of Suzhou also have opened one after another. Zi Xiaoxiang of Dinghui Temple Lane has the most traditional mung bean soup. Xiao Baba, located in Wangtianjing Lane, has become popular on the Internet for recent two years. Since the beginning of this year, Xuji Mung Bean Soup has opened two new stores in Lindon Road and Shishan. Besides, the mung bean soups of Sui Liuju, Chi Xiaodou and Zhao Jinji are quite accepted among people.
