Green tea mung bean paste is an earthy, thick filling often used in mooncakes and other popular Asian baked goods across East Asia.
With our recipe, you can prepare both sweet and savoury flavours, and it is also vegan-friendly. You can use this puree to make a green tea mooncake filling, tangyuan, steamed or baked buns, mochi, ang ku kueh, and tau sar piah.
To find the easiest way to make this at home, we've tested many variations of the recipe. Here, we'll share our experiences making matcha mung bean filling and the customisations we love to do. Whether you want to make it without oil, without green tea, savoury, or sweet, we've got you covered.
![Easy green tea mung bean paste recipe](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Easy-green-tea-mung-bean-paste-recipe.jpg)
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What Is Green Tea Mung Bean Paste?
Mung bean paste is a very popular ingredient all across Asia. The green tea white bean filling is made by combining both made from split mung beans and matcha powder.
![dried mung bean packet](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/dried-mung-bean-packet.jpg)
Usually, it is made after the completion of mung bean paste, and the whole consistency will turn green when green tea powder is mixed into it.
Matcha mung bean paste is used in mooncake filling in Chinese culture and mochi filling in Japanese culture. Like taro paste and lotus seed paste, green tea mung bean paste is a popular flavour for Asian pastries today. However, our matcha version doesn't require oil or a pressure cooker.
![mung bean paste matcha mochi recipe](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/mung-bean-paste-matcha-mochi-recipe.jpg)
Ingredients
Our green tea mung bean paste recipe uses matcha powder, mung beans, milk, and glutinous rice flour or plain flour as the key ingredients.
To make it sweet, we add sugar to the base ingredients. Meanwhile, to make it savoury, we add sugar, fried shallots and salt.
![matcha mung bean paste ingredients](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/matcha-mung-bean-paste-ingredients.jpg)
Our recipe uses no oil, so we recommend using a non-stick pan. However, you can use some butter if you don't have a non-stick pan. If you're going to use oil, we recommend using neutral-flavoured vegetable oil to make it.
Mung beans
We like dried-packed ones, where the majority of the beans look smooth and oval in shape. Try to avoid packet mung beans that are soft, or you can see cracks on the beans. You can usually buy these dried packets from Chinese grocery stores and online as green gram, maash, or even moong.
![Soaked mung beans](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Soaked-mung-beans.jpg)
When soaked these beans expand 2 to 3 times their size. We recommend soaking for at least 3 hours, but it's best to soak them overnight to save time.
If you do not want to cook with mung beans in our recipe, you can substitute white bean paste (shiroan in Japanese).
Matcha
For matcha, we use culinary grade, as its green tea flavour is slightly bitter but stronger, which is suitable for making baking goods. Ceremonial grade is more expensive, and it will be difficult to taste its nuanced flavours when mixed with other ingredients.
Milk
We add milk to our recipe as it enhances the flavour of matcha. Typically, we use oat milk in our recipe. However, you can use dairy instead of plant-based milk to make green tea mung bean paste, too.
How Smooth Do You Have To Blend The Beans?
After mixing the ingredients, you need to use a blender or immersion blender to mix the puree.
When mixed with a spoon, the matcha mung bean paste needs to be thick and smooth, but it should not be too sticky.
How To Store?
After cooking the green tea mung bean paste, you need to cool it down to room temperature.
You can cover it in a container or jar and keep it in the refrigerator for at least one week.
![How to store mung bean paste](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/How-to-store-mung-bean-paste.jpg)
To store it longer, transfer it to a freezer bag and remove all the air using a vacuum sealer. Then, pack it in a flat position, as it will be easier to thaw the filling and save freezer space. You can keep it for at least 6 months.
![Easy green tea mung bean paste recipe](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Easy-green-tea-mung-bean-paste-recipe-360x360.jpg)
Green Tea Mung Bean Paste Recipe | For Matcha Mooncakes and Pastries
Ingredients
- 100 g mung beans yields 300g cooked mung beans
- 200 ml water
- 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
- 125 ml soy milk or other plant based milk
- 30 g all purpose flour or glutinous rice flour
- 3 tablespoon hot water
To Make Sweet Mung Bean Recipe
- 100 g sugar
To Make Savory Mung Bean Recipe
- 75 g sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 30 g fried shallots
Cooking Instructions
Cook The Mung Beans in A Steamer
- Soak the split beans for at least 3 hours or overnight for 3 hours.
- Clean it 2 or 3 times and put it on in a steamer. Steam the beans for 25 minutes or more. Then, mash the beans thoroughly with a fork. Set them aside.
For Sweet Green Tea Mung Bean Paste
- First, whisk the matcha powder with hot water until there are no more clumps. Then combine the matcha green tea with sugar, milk, and flour and mix them until well mixed.
- Combine the matcha mixture with the mashed mung bean in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the paste to a non-stick and cook it at medium temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes or until it dries. As the water evaporates, you will get a nice paste that will no longer stay sticky.
For Savory Green Tea Mung Bean Paste
- Mix green tea powder with warm water. Add sugar, salt, milk, fried shallots and flour and mix them well with a whisk. Use a blender to combine the ingredients evenly until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a non-stick pan and keep the heat at medium temperature. Cook it until the paste is smooth and dry.
Recipe Notes
- You can use regular dairy milk or other types of plant-based milk. Oat and soy milk blends well with the taste of mung bean and matcha in our opinion.
- Don't use boiling water to whisk the matcha. It will burn the green tea powder and make it taste bitter and unsavoury. Ideally, hot water should be used at about 80°C (175 °F) or just warm water.
- If you want a paste that has bit more texture to it, then do not blend the mixture until smooth. Only blend for awhile until the whole beans are partially blended.
- If you want, you can also add roasted white melon seeds to add more texture to the mixture.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimate.
Sweet Vs Savoury Version
Both sweet and savoury versions of green tea mung bean paste are used in baking mooncake recipes. However, the sweeter one is often used in the snowskin mooncake recipe.
Our personal favourite is the sweet version with some white melon seeds inside, as it satisfies our sweet tooth.
![red bean snowskin mooncake green bean](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/red-bean-snowskin-mooncake-green-bean.jpg)
Next, try making our matcha mochi recipe, and let us know in the comments below how yours turned out.
Christianna
Love to try.
Kia
Just what I wanted thanks!
Tait
Really enjoyed making this paste, would love to see more of these!