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Pinto Bean Soup

This week I made pinto bean soup because my vegetable-seller at the Lip Sin market told me that these beans were good nourishment for the back.

A small packet of the pinto beans cost RM2. I didn't know the name of this bean but a quick check online using Google and Google Images search did the trick.

These pinto beans are white but freckled and part of the kidney bean family. Pinto means 'painted' in Spanish which is quite accurate as the beans are white and mottled. These beans are a favourite in Mexican dishes.

Similar to other beans, the pinto bean contains iron, potassium, selenium, molybdenum, thiamine, vitamin B6, and folic acid.

For me, I made these beans into soup. The soup is deliciously sweet and clear. The ingredients are:

1 packet of pinto beans (available fresh from your wet market)
5-8 dried longans
5-8 dried red dates
300gm of blanched meat/ribs
1.5 liters of water

Bring the water to a boil and add all ingredients into the pot. Boil furiously for 10 minutes. Lower heat, cover pot completely and simmer for 2 hours. Add salt to taste after about one and a half hours. Serve hot.

Find out more about the pinto bean (it's good for your heart!) right here http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=89

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