Okra, Kale, Apple, Beets Salad Bowl

Besides bitter melon and eggplant, okra is another vegetable that falls under the "Love-it-or-Leave-it" list. Quite different from bitter melon which some dislike due to its bitter taste, it is the texture of okra (likewise for eggplant) that puts some people off - mushy eggplant and slimy okra. If I have just one choice, I pick okra over eggplant.

Besides, it is okra season, is it not (and apples too!) ? Sometime in late August till October, farmer's markets are blessed with freshly harvested vibrant-green and tender-plump okra; unlike those sad brownish bruised-and-dull-looking okra usually found in the grocery stores other months of the year.

Steamed okra,  beets, kale, broccolini, red bell peppers, snap peas, topped with apple

While okra performs well in a stew- or braise-like dish e.g. Pumpkin, Green Bean, Okra Stew, I also enjoy 5-minute steamed okra in warm salad bowls.

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Bean Sprouts, Cabbage, Mango Duck Salad

Atop the bed of gently steamed bean sprouts, broccoli and cabbage sits this healthily prepared steamed duck breast, topped with sweet mango, crisp cucumber and colorful bell peppers.

This warm Sliced Duck Breast Salad can be enjoyed as a side-dish; yet also satisfying as a one-dish salad entree.


It is personal preference to either cook the bean sprouts and Napa cabbage or keep them raw. Even when the bean sprouts and Napa cabbage are cooked, they are only gently steamed, so their inherent crisp and moist textures are not compromised. At the same time, the steamed vegetables bring a little warmth into the salad (that is how I prefer) when tossed with the sliced duck breast.

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Spicy Soy Bean Sprouts

Similar to mung bean sprouts (germinated mung beans), soy bean sprouts (germinated soy beans) provide important B Vitamins e.g.thiamin, riboflavin, niacin; and minerals e.g. folate and zinc.


Keeping it simple (and not over-cooking) is the key when it comes to cooking bean sprouts. Personally, mung bean sprouts often have a stronger raw taste, so I usually prefer to stir-fry/saute them quickly as the heat/oil helps in removing its raw taste. On the other hand, soy bean bean retains its crunchy texture much better when blanched in boiling water. Using blanched soy bean sprouts, an easy Spicy Soy Bean Sprouts salad side-dish takes less than 20 minutes to prepare, and pairs well with rice e.g. Easy Healthy Korean Bibimbap, or noodles e.g Kimchi Noodles.

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Bean Sprouts Salad 豆芽沙拉

With a quick and easy bean sprouts stir-fry, this salad-style bean sprouts dish which is even quicker and easier to prepare and cook, immediately caught my attention.


Quick and fuss-free side-dish recipes are great when cooking the main dish itself takes a little more time, and when stove-top space is limited. With this Bean Sprouts Salad, all that was required was a pot of boiling water to blanch the bean sprouts 1-2 minutes, then season the blanched sprouts to make a flavorful and light side-dish salad.

Now, with the side-dish taken care of, I can start cooking the main dish chicken rice; starting up two stove-top burners - one for making chicken stock and chicken (Poached Chicken recipe), and one for cooking the rice (Chicken Rice recipe).

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Broccolini, Bean Sprouts with Peanut Vinaigrette 自制花生酱拌花椰菜苗, 豆芽

There are two ways I enjoy salads and that can be seen from what I usually put together - either fruits and/or vegetables salad in this homemade vinaigrette dressing or vegetables salad in peanut-sauce and/or ground-sesame dressing.


Today, this three-ingredient salad is enjoyed with a newly created peanut-sauce dressing, an upgraded version from this basic peanut butter sauce, which is perfectly balanced - nutty, tangy, salty, sweet, spicy.

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Bean Sprouts with Green Onions 青葱炒豆芽

Grains (e.g. wheat, barley), seeds (e.g. alfalfa seeds, coriander seeds, quinoa), legumes (e.g. mung bean, peas) can all be sprouted for maximizing nutrition. Sprouted food acquires improved digestibility and nutritional qualities when compared to non-sprouted version from which it derives.


For example, when mung beans are sprouted, its Vitamin A content increases 285%, Thiamine (Vitamin B1) content increases 208 per cent, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) content increases 515 per cent, Niacin (Vitamin B3) content increases 256 per cent (Source: Sproutnet.com)

I am not really a huge fan of raw mung bean sprouts but Lightly Sauteed Bean Sprouts is acceptable.

Today's version of Stir-Fry Mung Bean Sprouts is much simpler than Lightly Sauteed Bean Sprouts. It is done with green onions (lots of it!), ginger, garlic and sliced red chili.

It is also budget-friendly, and probably cost less than a dollar for a serving of two.


Stir-Fry Mung Bean Sprouts 青葱炒豆芽
Ingredients: 2-3 green onions (Note: You can absolutely substitute green onions with spring leeks that are in season right now), separate the bottom white and top green, slice to half-finger length, 2-3 thin slices ginger, 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced, 1 red chili thinly sliced, 1/2 pack cleaned mung bean sprouts (Note1: you can use soy bean sprouts - 黄豆芽 if you wish), salt and ground white pepper to taste.

Directions: Sweat the bottom-white green onions, ginger, garlic for about 3 minutes. Add bean sprouts, saute about 2 minutes, then red chili and saute till bean sprouts turn crisp-tender. Add the top green part of green onions give it a good toss. Salt and white pepper to taste


Sharing Mung Bean Sprouts with Weekend Herb Blogging WHB#332 hosted by Rachel of Rachel The Crispy Cook

 
Tag: bean sprouts, mung bean sprouts

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Mung Bean Soybean Sprouts Stir-Fry 清炒豆芽

I am never a huge fan of mung bean sprouts 绿豆芽 especially when they are raw. However, when cooked to perfection losing the raw taste (in the process of cooking) without losing the crunch, I do not mind.

Mung bean sprouts are the bean sprouts used mainly in most Asian countries while in China and Korea, soybean sprouts 黄豆芽 are widely used in a variety of dishes (Source: Wikipedia: Mung Bean).  

Do you have any preference for mung bean sprouts or soybean sprouts?


Many times, mung beans sprouts are stir-fried with salted fish - 咸鱼, as the robust flavors of salted fish usually helps to cover up the raw taste of bean sprouts.


I do not use salted fish in my kitchen, but am really happy with my recent vegetarian creation that is not as robust yet still flavorful and light.

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