A generic term for sprouts from any type of beans.
However in Chinese cuisine, it generally refers to either the mung bean sprout or the soybean sprout. The latter is bigger. Not rocket science since the soybean is a much larger bean.
Mung bean sprout. Photo source: Stefan Eberlein at wikimedia
Soybean sprouts. Photo source: karendotcom127 at Wikimedia
Soybean sprouts are supposed to be more nutritious.
These can be sold with or without their straggly roots. The roots can be eaten but my family prefer to remove the roots first. I remember competing with my siblings over who can pinch the roots off the fastest. Now that I am older, I suspect that the competition was my grandmother's ploy to get us to help her since it can be quite boring if you are pinching alone.
You can now buy sprouts that already have their roots removed. Convenient but there is a catch. Use them immediately. They will start to go bad.
I used to grow mung bean sprouts by soaking dried mung beans overnight and laying them out on a layer of cotton wool. It was fun watching the beans split and the sprouts shoot up in a few days.
How to prepare
These sprouts are quite versatile. They have been used in salads, wraps, soups, fried noodles and rice or stir-fried together with other vegetables. The Koreans have also pickled the soybean sprouts. It is a very good appetitizer.
Both sprouts can be eaten raw but it is spicy. The Vietnamese uses raw sprouts in their rice paper rolls. I always dipped the rolls in thick sweet sauce to mask the spiciness. Yes, I prefer mine well cooked with the bite and edge cooked out.
They are quite easy to clean. Remove the roots before soaking and washing. Some people even remove the heads but I find that too tedious and the heads are visually quite pleasing.
Choose firm and white ones. Avoid those with spots. If you are keeping them for a while, air them for a while, then wrap them in used newspapers or baking sheets to keep them dry. If they are wet, they turn mushy quickly.
They cook fairly quickly, so they can be lightly blanched and dunked into cold water or quick fried to retain their crunchy texture. They are great in quick soups or noodle soups. Do not add to soups meant for long simmering.
