Beansprouts with the beans on!

carinska

Another veg box question, sorry! This week I got a lovely looking tub of mixed beansprouts (aduki, mung, chickpeas, lentils I think),all with the little bean on the end. I have used beanspouts a lot for stirfrys etc but normally just the supermarket ones in a bag. Can I just use these ones the same way, bean and all?! Or do they have to be used differently?
Thanks!

bigpaws23

Oooo, yummy - lucky you!

You can use them just as they are. Most places recommend you give them a rinse under the tap first (put them in a sieve is the easiest way) and then you can add them to stirfries in the normal way.

If you are interested in the health benefits, however, it's best not to cook them as this destroys some of the enzymes. They are better used as the base of a salad, perhaps with some oil and lemon juice if you want a 'dressing'.

If you get ones like mung (traditional 'beanspouts' you get in the supermarket , or alfalfa, the beans are still there, but they are tiny and they tend to somehow pop open and turn themselves inside out during the sprouting process so you don't notice the bean so much.
Having said that, perhaps supermarkets remove them for customer appeal :mad:

However you eat them; enjoy!

If you like them, they are really easy to grow and you'll save a fortune - it's a great way of getting some 'live food' during the winter months too, when salady things are out of season and need to be imported. We grow alfalfa all the time; I can't get enough of the stuff!

Bigpaws x

carinska

Thanks! I had a couple of handfuls raw yesterday and they were indeed very yummy, however I can't persuade hubby so they are going in a stir fry tonight, very lightly cooked to try to fool him into thinking they are not raw!