288. Korean bean sprout salad - Sukju namul - Recipe

Korean bean sprout salad - Sukju namul

Mung bean sprouts are grown and used extensively in Asian cuisine. They are considered to be the best cooking sprout.

Buy the freshest bean sprouts. The white, crispy ones. The opaque ones are limp and past their prime and will soon turn to mush. Bean sprouts are very perishable so I buy only what I need. I've learnt my lesson and don't want to think of the countless times I've thrown out limp, wet, bean sprouts. In the summer they cannot be left in a hot car for long. They will have deteriorated by the time you bring them home. In the winter, they'll freeze in the car and you'll be throwing them in the garbage. The thermostat on my fridge is erratic and they freeze in the fridge also. These small matchstick like pieces of vegetables are very troublesome!

Fresh mung bean sprouts

I tidy up the bean sprouts - hand-picking each sprout, choosing the fresh, opaque pieces and removing the long roots. This is quite tedious but I won't serve the sprouts with the long, brown roots. There is no harm eating them with their roots but I think the dish looks so untidy.

I try to make this task as pleasant and quick as possible, doing it with mindfulness so to speak. I have a system. On my left are the bean sprouts and on my right is a bowl with cold water. So I pick out the good pieces and flick themt into the water; pick up pieces with roots, pinch the roots off and flick the rootless piece into the water. I get into a rhythm and can do a small batch quickly. I think the yield is about 75%. There are sprouts that have been developed to be rootless but they still need tidying up.


I've had a Korean food-fest this month and made a few banchan, the little side dishes served in Korean meals. Namul are the vegetable or wild-greens side dishes eaten with rice.

Suku namul, mung bean sprout salad is healthy and so easy to make. Just a little bit of sesame oil is used. The vegetables are blanched and seasoned with a dressing of soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil and garlic (lots of garlic). That's it.

Ingredients:

A few handfuls of bean sprouts
1 garlic clove finely minced
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
A pinch of sugar

Method:

1. Blanch the bean sprouts. Dip them in the boiling water and remove them immediately. They will become translucent. Their acquaintance with the boiling water is brief.
   
2. Bring the pot to the sink and pour the sprouts into a colander placed in the sink. Rinse the hot sprouts with cold, running water. Shake the colander to to drain the water.
3. Mix the dressing and toss the bean sprouts in it.
4. Arrange on a serving plate or bowl. Sukju namul should be eaten immediately as doesn't keep.

This is my entry to Weekend Wokking which I am hosting this week. Wandering Chopsticks, the very popular blogger from Southern California created this monthly food blogging event.

Palachinka, who hosted Weekend Wokking #11, chose Sprouts for this month's event. I just noticed that we are now at WW#12 which brings the event to a full year of successful wokking. Congratulations, Wandering Chopsticks

There is still time to send me your entries for Sprouts. I know there are many delicious and interesting recipes for these germinating things.

The round-up is on Wednesday, May 6. Technically, the entries should be in by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, May 3 to kitschow (at) gmail (dot) com but I'll take your entries till I post the roundup online.