Bean Sprouts

Beans sprouts from Mung Beans-(Phaseolus aureus) – came from the seeds of the plant we call munggo or”vigna radiata”. These plants have long been cultivated in India, China, Thailand, Philippines and other Asian countries. Japan on the other hand cultivates soy bean sprouts(glycine max) and they call bean sprouts “moyashi”.

In the Philippines, beans sprouts or “togue” are widely used in everyday cuisine. I like going to the public market everyday to buy fresh vegetables and one of them is bean sprouts. I like to make “ukoy” with it. Ukoy is like a tempura made of bean sprouts and shrimp and accompanied by the dipping sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar and garlic. I also make chopsuey, a mix of vegetables like carrots, celery and cabbage with bean sprouts of course. I also make fresh “lumpia” with it. Fresh “lumpia ” is stir fried vegetables with bean sprouts included wrapped in freshly made wrapper that is similar to “crepes” with a fresh leaf of lettuce and then served with a special sauce with garlic and fresh chopped peanuts. In Chinese restaurants, you can see them when you order egg foo yong.

Beans sprouts is surprisingly an extremely healthy food. The white color can fool you but it is packed of nutrients like Vitamins A, B2, and E. It also have minerals like calcium, iron and potassium. The seeds have these latent nutrients already but as if a mystery, when they grow as sprouts, all these nutrients increase rapidly. It has no cholesterol, but lots of fiber and protein.

There are other seeds that are grown as sprouts like alfalfa, pea, and radish sprouts which are really good in salads.