Sprouting mung beans

[Franci]

Hi.

I decided to sprout my mung beans and I'm going through my first attempt.

Before starting I consulted:

*Barbara Tropp, the Art of Chinese Cooking. She suggests to soak the beans overnight, then put in a mason jar, cover the opening with a double layer of cheese cloth kept in place with a rubber band and keep in a dark corner of the kitchen or cover (except for the mouth of the jar) with a towel to keep the beans in dark. That's necessary to have white, thick sprouts. She tells to rinse the beans with warm water, through the cheese cloth and keep the jar on the side for good drainage.

*Irene Kuo, The Key to Chinese Cooking. After soaking the beans overnight, she instead suggests to wet with warm water two pieces of double-layered cheesecloth. Put one on the bottom of a colander, add the beans and cover with the second cheesecloth. Wet with 1/2 cup of warm water, let drain, put in the colander on a shallow container and move to a closet. Spray the colander 4 times a day with warm water, for 4-5 days. The ideal temperature for spouting should be 75 F.

*sprouting mung beans. I read this blog after starting. What is interesting to me here is the suggestion to weight the beans down to have thicker sprouts and also for the same reason says that beans shouldn't be moved much when rinsed (so, Irene Kuo's method is of using a colander have the merit of not shaken the colander).

I also got scared about the part: "Since commercially produced sprouts have been identified as a major source of food born illness, you want to be fairly confident in your seed source."

I basically followed Barbara Tropp's directions but cover the jar with aluminum foil. Now I'm at day 3 of sprouting and I can see the sprouts are turning a little purple at the head and my jar is definitely too small. Nothing I can do right now to fix the color but maybe I can transfer the sprouts somewhere else.

Anybody is willing to share their experiences and findings in spouting mung beans?

Thanks

[dougal]

Its not rocket science.

The idea is to keep them damp, but to prevent the growth of mould.

So the normal method is to wash them frequently, while excluding house dust and the majority of mould spores.

A clean, lint-free cloth 'lid' to the jar can be left in place from start to finish. You can fill and empty the jar of water WITHOUT removing the lid - the water flows easily through the cloth. The damp cloth should provide some air filtration and help to regulate the humidity inside.

You want the temperature to be comfortably warm and fairly steady. No need great precision!

You need lots of empty space in the jar when you start. A couple of spoonfuls of beans in a one litre jar would be a good starting point. Beans need lots of headroom!

You'll discover that you can sprout all manner of food-grade beans and other seeds. I've even heard of people sprouting supermarket-shelf dried peas - ostensibly one of the most inert of foodstuffs! (Whole) Lentils need relatively little headroom. Yes, the whole thing, seed and 'root' as well as the little sprout and leaves, is edible and good (especially raw - for example as a salad component in sandwiches).

But beware 'sprouting' garden-grade seeds - they can have been treated with preservatives.

There are very few 'sprouts-from-foodstuffs' that aren't good to eat. Potato is one obvious no-no. (Any others?)

Have fun experimenting.

Just be aware that you are trying to grow (mechanically and environmentally) delicate seedlings, and apart from maintaining regular watering and comfortable temperatures, the enemy that you should be watching out for is mould.

Edited June 11, 2010 by dougal (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

<snip>

I bought some mung beans on a whim, and am trying to figure out how to use them.

 

kayb,

 

I use mung beans to sprout exclusively, although there are probably other uses for them. I know I purchase glass/cellophane noodles that are made from them.

 

I can only find the dry beans in specialty Asian or Mediterranean grocers in my area, and I'm ignorant of why they pop up in the latter.

 

I have a special, but inexpensive jar I purchased that's a bit larger than a quart mason jar. It has a plastic screw-on-collared lid with a a fine stainless steel screen mounted into the plastic collar for draining the water easily, but you can do the same thing with a clean Mason jar or similar, a bit of cheesecloth, and a rubber band.

 

I use a set of instructions from my old "Joy of Cooking" to do this, and it takes about 5 days from dry beans to stir-fry ready. If you don't have the "recipe" (I would't really call it one), and have any interest, I'd be glad to share further info.

 

 

 

 

 

This post and the responses to it have been moved from the Cooking Dried Beans discussion.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Mjx
Note added (log)

[kayb]

kayb,

 

I use mung beans to sprout exclusively, although there are probably other uses for them. I know I purchase glass/cellophane noodles that are made from them.

 

I can only find the dry beans in specialty Asian or Mediterranean grocers in my area, and I'm ignorant of why they pop up in the latter.

 

I have a special, but inexpensive jar I purchased that's a bit larger than a quart mason jar. It has a plastic screw-on-collared lid with a a fine stainless steel screen mounted into the plastic collar for draining the water easily, but you can do the same thing with a clean Mason jar or similar, a bit of cheesecloth, and a rubber band.

 

I use a set of instructions from my old "Joy of Cooking" to do this, and it takes about 5 days from dry beans to stir-fry ready. If you don't have the "recipe" (I would't really call it one), and have any interest, I'd be glad to share further info.

TFTC, I'd love to have the recipe/instructions. I cook some quasi-Asian dishes that would be improved by the availability of fresh  bean sprouts. Plus, I love 'em in place of lettuce on a sandwich.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Hi kayb,

 

You need to make sure all your equipment including your hands are as clean as possible to start.

 

Joy calls for 3 TBSP of sprouts measured into a 1 qt jar to make 1-1/2 c of sprouts, but I have found that that much dry mung beans CRAM my jar which is over a qt. when mature. I use 2 TBSP and it still fills the whole jar. It could well be different for alfalfa, which I've never tried, but only because I cant find the seeds in edible quality locally.

 

1. You pick over and rinse the beans. I find this easiest to do by measuring them into a plate dry, picking out anything iffy, putting into the jar, putting on the strainer lid, and then rinsing in there.

 

2. Then you add warm water. I have always used what I'd use to proof yeast and had success every time. Let this stand about 24 hours.

 

3. After the initial soak, dump out the soak water, and rinse your beans well with cool water. I rinse about three times. Then drain really, really well. Too much retained water will cause nasty stuff to grow, especially at first, before the seeds have gotten going. Once they do, they are capable of using excess water. When I start them out, I always brace my jar so it won't roll sideways, and prop up the bottom on an angle where all excess water drains out slowly in an area on my counter where a couple tablespoons of water aren't going to bother anything. Once they sprout roots and leaf shoots, you don't need to worry about draining so much. You will need to do the rinse/drain step twice a day until they are ready to eat.

 

4. Joy doesn't mention this step, but I'm adding it from experience. Once your beans have sprouted enough to have most of them cracking their outer hulls away from the beans, and this will be when the central roots and stalks are emerging, you need to remove the hulls. I don't like hulls in my sprouts, and if you wait until the beans start having small root branches and stalk branches, it will be much more difficult to extract the hulls. I do this by scrupulously cleaning my sink and stopper with soap and hot water, filling it with cool tap water and dumping the partially sprouted beans in. Many of the hulls just float off at this point and can be skimmed away. I like to gently extract every last hull sorting through them manually. I don't know how they do this step commercially, and it can't be the way I do it, or the product would cost a lot more. Also this is the point at which I discard any beans that are retarded in their development or look iffy along with the hulls. I have also read "somewhere" that to get mung bean sprouts to look like the commercial ones they must be sprouted in a dark closet. I sprout mine on the counter where they're exposed to very filtered sunlight, so they so develop tiny leaf buds at the top which start to green and some branching rootlets. It's virtually impossible to get all the hulls off at that point. I do not use the closet method, because I'm afraid it might encourage something nasty to grow.

 

5. Joy says that it takes about five days from start to finish, and I have found this true with mung beans. Once you have mature sprouts, free them from their jar into a produce bag and refrigerate. Use within a few days. There is also a note that if you sprout soy beans, you should cook them at least briefly (about a minute) to neutralize an enzyme that interferes with digestibility. They specifically state that mung sprouts may be enjoyed raw.

 

Happy bean sprouting. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

You'll discover that you can sprout all manner of food-grade beans and other seeds. I've even heard of people sprouting supermarket-shelf dried peas - ostensibly one of the most inert of foodstuffs! (Whole) Lentils need relatively little headroom. Yes, the whole thing, seed and 'root' as well as the little sprout and leaves, is edible and good (especially raw - for example as a salad component in sandwiches).

But beware 'sprouting' garden-grade seeds - they can have been treated with preservatives.

There are very few 'sprouts-from-foodstuffs' that aren't good to eat. Potato is one obvious no-no. (Any others?)

 

 

 Joy says don't sprout tomato seeds (same nightshade family as potato) and fava beans.

 

Also seeds/beans intended to be planted may be treated with not just preservatives, but pesticides, fungicides, and other stuff you definitely do not want to eat. Make sure your sprouting seeds/beans are food grade.

[liuzhou]

Also seeds/beans intended to be planted may be treated with not just preservatives, but pesticides, fungicides, and other stuff you definitely do not want to eat. Make sure your sprouting seeds/beans are food grade.

Very good advice. I have to be very careful buying things like coriander seeds here in China. They are only sold in agricultural supplies places. The locals use the green plant as if there is no other herb in the universe, but they never use the seeds in their cuisine. So, they are sold heavily treated with all the stuff you mention and more. I have managed to groom a friendly seed supplier who assures me the batch he sells me is 'additive-free'.

By the way, peanut sprouts are excellent.

Peanut Sprouts

I'm with you on the sweet mung bean soup. Not one of the most appealing things in China, but everywhere. Horrible stuff and a waste of good beans.

Mung Bean Sprouts

Edited November 16, 2015 by liuzhou (log)