Chicken Mung Bean Stew

If you’re out of ideas on what to cook today, try this Chicken Mung Bean Stew and you will not regret the decision. It’s easy to prepare and will be a favorite in your family as it is in mine.

These days I’m all about making fast meals, or nothing at all. Because I don’t have the time to make something fancy, or even two courses.

My daughter takes up all my time, and I also have to eat and shower, and with a 6 month-old that’s pretty difficult. She barely sleeps during the day so I don’t really have the time.

This recipe is pretty straigthforward, I would say. Especially if you have frozen veggies on hand.

TIP: When you have more time, chop veggies like onion, garlic, pepper, celery or carrots and freeze them in containers. This way you have veggies always on hand when you need to add them to a meal. You can do this with herbs as well. This saves me a lot of time when I need to cook something fast.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast
2 carrots
1 stick of celery
1 onion
1/4 of a broccoli
1/2 of a zucchini
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of olive oil
chicken stock
1 bay leaf
chives and parsley leaves, chopped
250 g of mung beans
1 big handful of fresh spinach

I added chicken breast this time, but you can substitute it for another protein source, among mung beans, or use just the beans.

The first time I made this stew, I did not soak the beans because I read on the package that is not necessary, but it was.

So be sure to soak them for 5 hours, or better overnight. If you don’t soak them, the veggies will be mushed by the time the beans are cooked through.

Chicken Mung Bean Stew | booksandlavender.com

In a pot, add the veggies, olive oil and the chicken and saute them for 10 minutes. I did not brown the chicken because I didn’t had the time, but you can do that if you want to.

When they’re starting to get soft, cover the veggies with chicken stock, add the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper and add the mung beans. If you want a liquidy stew, you can add more stock.

Sprinkle chives and parsley. Put the lid on and bring it to a boil. When it starts to boil, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes approx. until the mung beans are cooked through and soft.