Bean sprouts

Mung Beans and sprouts from the bean

Bean sprouts are a common ingredient  in Asian cuisine. They are made from green beans seeds (mung beans) by sprouting. The sprouted beans are more nutritious than the ordinary beans. The typical bean sprout is made from the greenish mung beans. There are many types of seeds that can be made into sprouts, including kidney, navy, pinto, mung, lentils, quinoa, chick peas, soy beans, alfalfa and many other seeds.. All kinds of sprouts are highly nutritious.

In Japanese, the word moyashi refers to, in a strict sense, the mung sprout, and the usually yellow, larger-sized soy sprouts are called mame-moyashi. In Chinese cuisine, bean sprouts are often used with fried rice, spring rolls, egg drop soup, and hot and sour soup. In Korea, it is one of the staple ingredients for Namul – a side dish consisting of seasoned vegetables to accompany the main dish. They are also found in Thai and Vietnamese cooking.

Soy sprouts

Green bean seed sprouts (mung) are most popular because they are tender and therefore can be used with many different ingredients. They are easy to grow and are also cheap. Next common sprout is soy sprouts.
.The soy sprouts are stronger and larger and tougher than mung sprouts. Soy sprouts have a distinctive taste, more particularly the head - the seed. So you cannot use it with many ingredients like green bean sprouts.You have to find s suitable companion ingredient to cook it with. many Chinese chefs usually nip off the head and the tail. In other words they take only the stem, discarding most nutritious root and the head..I don't think that this is a wise thing to do in home cooking..

Sprouts can be easily produced at home. You do not need any expensive equipment. All you need to do is to soak them for one day and thereafter wet them twice or three times a day. In about a week you will get adequately grown sprouts.Detailed instructions can be found in the web.Malt is also produced by this way. As soon as the  the seed germinates they stop further germination by blowing hot air and drying the seeds. The dried germinated seeds are powdered and marketed in the form of 'malted milk' such as Horlicks and Nestamalt.

Personally I add soy bean sprouts to my daily juice.There is also talk about salmonella and similar poisoning. Lesson here is that we should try to avoid raw alfalfa sprouts from a source not well reputed. Probably these germs are introduced in the growing process where cleanliness is not adopted properly. Even then if you cook them well enough to destroy these germs, I think you can overcome the problem of salmonella.. But if you suddenly show up any unusual symptoms please  seek medical help immediately.
Bean sprouts are said to help in preventing cancer because of their fibre content which keeps the colon clean and prevent build-up of toxins in the colon. Sprouts also reduce bad cholesterol. The natural estrogen found in sprouts can improve bone health and thereby prevent osteoporosis. The sprouts give support to the immune system because of the presence of antioxidants. They are said to be good for the skin because of Vitamin E present in them. The sprouts check the acidity in the stomach because they are alkaline, and maintain a healthy pH balance. Sprouts are good for those seeking to reduce weight because they provide the bulk and contain very little fat.

Caution

Those who have any auto-immune disorder should not consume alfalfa sprouts,Some legumes and sprouts have some anti-nutritional factors that inhibit the digestion of certain proteins.   One should avoid consuming large quantities of sprouts regularly – no more than 550 grams daily.

Nutrition facts

 Bean sprouts recipes
Rainbow Bean Sprout Stir-fry
Bean sprouts with noodles