Grow Nutritious Mung Beans in Five Days!
It’s so easy to grow bean sprouts inside, especially when the weather’s wintry or unpleasant outside! Mung beans, also known as bean sprouts, are exceptionally nutritious and take just five days—yes, five days!—to grow.
In this short video, we show you how to prepare beansprouts so that you can have tasty, fresh produce in just a few days for dishes such as stir-frys and soups.
The humble mung bean is a wondrous thing. Popular in many Asian cuisines or as a filling in sandwiches, spring rolls or wraps, the sprouted beans are full of health-giving nutrients, protein and fiber. They’re easy to grow too, making them the ultimate convenience food!
Sprouting Mung Bean Seeds
Day 1
Thoroughly rinse half a cup (80g) of mung beans. Put them in a bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight or for at least 12 hours.
Day 2
The beans will have swollen significantly by the next morning. Wash out an empty juice carton with soapy water, and rinse. Only use juice cartons, not anything that has contained dairy or non-acidic contents.
Nick holes into the top corners of the carton with scissors, just big enough for water to drain out without letting the beans escape.
Drain the soaked beans, then pour them into the carton using a funnel. Fill with lukewarm water and screw on the lid. Tip the carton upside down to drain the water out through the holes. Wash and drain your sprouts twice a day.
Day 3
By the next day all of the beans will have sprouted. Repeat the washing and draining process, once in the morning, then again in the evening.
Day 4
The sprouts could be eaten at this stage, but leave it another day and they’ll be perfect.
Day 5
Cut the carton open to reveal the crisp white sprouts, perfect for stir fries, sandwiches, spring rolls and wraps.
Rinsing Mung Bean Sprouts
Before eating the sprouts you’ll need to skim off the bean husks. Place the sprouts into a large mixing bowl and fill with water. Most of the husks will float to the surface. Carefully comb them to one side then fish them out. Some of the husks will have sunk to the bottom. Remove the cleaned bean sprouts to leave these husks behind in the bottom of the bowl. Bean sprouts should keep for three days in the refrigerator, after which you’ll need to discard any that haven’t been eaten.
Homegrown bean sprouts are extra crunchy, and taste great stir-fried with finely chopped garlic, ginger, a little soy sauce and a splash of sesame seed oil. Just delicious!
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My mum always had these made at home growing up (more than 50 years ago!). Not too complicated. After soaking them overnight, she would drain the water and wrap them in a moist cotton cloth the next morning. The cloth could be a clean wash rag, handkerchief, etc. Key is that the cloth should be able to breathe and hold moisture. Store this in a bowl/container in a cool, dry place. Occasionally moisten the cloth if it has dried. During the course of the day, the sprouts would appear and they would be ready for consumption the next day. Ofcourse, this varies by temperature/season and where it is stored for sprouting. For us summers were 90+ degrees and worked well for the sprouting to start.
As Chelsea mentions, cleanliness is important to avoid bacteria. Leaving them in the cloth or using a dirty rag, or a dirty bowl are all invitations to bacterial growth.
I've always heard that bean sprouts get and give bacteria quite easily. Is this true? I understand about handling them with very clean hands, cartons, etc. Where my doubts come in is the way I've always been told that even with super stringent cleaning techniques, they can still make you sick from bacteria. Is this true? They were even recalled locally last year from stores. I used to eat them when I was young and I love them so! I'm scared that my body won't tolerate any bacteria-caused illness. Is there any facts that can allay my fears?
I like wheat sprouts but can't find them in the stores in suburban D.C. The medium sized back porch is screened in. Is this a good potential place to grow, and most carefully handle, wheat sprouts? What's the subject matter expert say?
Sprouts need a place that’s as sterile as possible. Personally, we would want to keep them in an environment that we can keep sterile, such as the kitchen. That would reduce the risk of bacteria contaminating the sprouts. A back porch does not sound very sterile, so we probably would not recommend it. Also, with sprouts it’s preferable to have a more constant temperature (such as indoors) rather than a porch which may have temperature extremes. Hope this helps!
How do I plant them?
Mung Bean Sprouts are usually "sprouted for Salads; not for planting as much"; I like Mung Sprouts with Tofu and Soy Sauce; "stir-fried";
