Can you boil water?ย If so, you can make this bean sprout side dish found in nearly every Korean restaurant.
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Serve these simple sprouts alongside a vegan Korean tofu soup, kimchi pork stir fry, or vegan kimchi fried rice.
But first, let’s answer the vital question of what the heck these bean sprouts are.
What is a mung bean sprout?
- It is a sprout from a whole green mung bean.
- Mung beans can also be yellow, but only the green ones will sprout.
- Buy them fresh, not frozen.ย They come packaged in plastic bags to keep them fresh.
- If it is old, you will see the tips will have browned (pictured below).
- If you have time, pick off the browned, old tips before cooking.
Make it because…
- It’s easy to make
- Mung bean sprouts are cheap.ย At my store, a 12oz bag is 99 cents or $1.99 for organic.
- The pot you use to boil the sprouts is easy to clean.
How to make Korean bean sprouts
Step 1: Boil water
Step 2: Add sprouts to the boiling water.
Step 3: Bring water back to a boil
Step 4: Drain
Step 5: Season
Mix drained sprouts with:
- sesame oil
- salt
- Korean chili flakes
Garnish with:
- toasted sesame seeds
- sliced green onion
Other variations to try
- This is also traditionally made with soybean sprouts, which have a bright yellow bean head at the top.ย However, those are harder to find.
- You could also add minced raw garlic if you dare…(or just love garlic)
How long can you keep this dish?
Make it the day before.
Keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Add to the table as a crunchy little pickle-like pick me up to your meal.
How to make it better @home
- Add a minced raw garlic clove if you like garlic
- Make sure to pick off the dead brown ends of the sprouts
- Once you buy a bag of mung bean sprouts, use it within a few days.ย It will start to get rot quickly.
- Make ahead and keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Try a variation of this with soybean sprouts instead of mung bean sprouts
Other Easy Side Dishes
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5 minute Korean Bean Sprouts
Ingredients
- 4 heaping cups mung bean sprouts 9 oz
Dressing
- 1 Tb sesame oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp Korean red chili flakes
- 2 Tb sliced green onion optional garnish
Instructions
- Bring pot of water to a boil. It doesn't really matter how much. But big enough to hold all the sprouts once added to the pot.
- Add mung bean sprouts to the pot.
- Wait for the water to come back to a rolling boil. Boil sprouts for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Drain the pot into a colander in the sink. Squeeze out excess water as necessary, so it doesn't dilute the seasoning.
- Transfer drained sprouts to a bowl. Toss with sesame oil, salt, and sesame seeds. Add more salt to taste as needed.
Notes
- Add a minced raw garlic clove if you like garlic
- Make sure to pick off the dead brown ends of the sprouts
- Once you buy a bag of mung bean sprouts, use it within a few days.ย It will start to get rot quickly.
- Make ahead and keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Try a variation of this with soybean sprouts instead of mung bean sprouts
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Nutrition
Do you have 5 minutes to make this dish?ย Please spread the Asian ♥ and share!
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