Hey, friends in this blog I’ll show you how to grow ‘bean sprouts‘ with step by step guide. It’s easy and fun.
It can be a nice little project to do with your kids and it’s so much cheaper and healthier to grow it at home.
Also, I will go through every possible problem that you might have so you will be successful every single time. In the end, I will also share a delicious bean sprout salad recipe.
So let’s get started.
Steps to grow bean sprouts at home
1. Pick the right kitchen tool (utensil)
First, let’s talk about what kind of containers you can use.
I like to use a steamer. The top part has holes that allow the water to drip down. So your beans won’t be soaked in water while sprouting.
You can also use a rice cooker’ that comes with a steamer attachment.
It is also perfect if you don’t have these. You can use a plastic basket. Put it on top of a big pot.
You can even use a stainless steel sieve and put it on top of a bowl that will work as well
No matter what you use just make sure you clean them well to avoid any uncertainty.
2. Choose good quality beans
Now let’s talk about beans. You can use almost any kind such as soybeans, sweet peas, black beans.
The flavors are different. You can try different variations to decide which one is your favorite.
In this article, I’m going to use mung beans as an example to grow bean sprouts. Make sure you pick the newest crop because the older it is the less chance they will sprout.
Some beans are packed in a vacuum bag do not use that. The seeds are probably dead due to the lack of oxygen.
You can ask your supplier to make sure you pick a good sprouter, very important.
3. How many beans can you sprout
How to count how much means you can sprout in one container?
place a cheesecloth in the container. Lay one layer of dry mung beans to fill up 2/3 of the bottom. That is the amount you can do with this container
When the seeds are rehydrated they will expand the size 2 to 3 times. Then you have two layers of beans to lay in the container.
You don’t want too many beans piled-up or else they can’t breathe well and that usually leads to a bad result.
Wash them with running water several times. Pick out the broken ones if you see any, they will affect the good beans.
Then soak the beans in clean water for 24 hours. This rehydration process is called breaking the dormancy and the mung beans should be doubled in size. They are ready to grow
You should be able to see some little white tail coming out. If you don’t see any that means the beans are dead. You cannot sprout them.
Drain the water, we can start a sprouting process. Wet the cheesecloth slightly and place it in the steamer.
4. Type of material you can use to grow the thick mung bean sprouts
let me talk about this for a second that what type of material you can use to grow the bean sprouts.
Cheesecloth is great for sprouting. It keeps a certain amount of moisture and it allows the beans to breathe easily.
Besides the cheesecloth, reusable kitchen paper will also work. It is not paper material, it’s kind of like a fabric material and hard to break apart
You cannot use a towel as it will be too thick and won’t be good for sprouting.
You can also do this process without cheesecloth of course. Just make sure you water them on time. The moisture level is pretty low without the cheesecloth and if you forget to water it once or twice they could die.
Fold the cheesecloth to cover the beans. From now on count at five to six days. Water it twice a day once in the morning once at night.
Make sure to discard the water that drains down because bacteria might grow in there.
Older beans take longer to grow, fresh crops would be faster. Make sure this whole set is not completely sealed. Beans need air to breathe.
We don’t want them to see any sunlight or else they will turn color that brings a bitter taste.
I’m going to wrap it with black fabric. Even though it’s black you can still see some light going through. so I will also put this whole thing into a dark room.
The best temperature is around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. If it’s too cold it might take a bit longer to grow. If it’s over 85 degrees Fahrenheit the mung beans would likely go bad.
Bean sprouts growth results
- Day 1– The first day all the beans have burst out of the skin. The little whitetail is about 2/3 of an inch long. It’s kind of cute.
- Day 2– The tail is longer than an inch now and there is a thicker middle part appearing.
- Day 3– On day 3, you can see the middle part is growing longer and thicker that will be the best part for cooking.
- Day 4- The bean sprouts are looking good. You can cook it by now but I want the thick tail part to grow to 2 inches long.
- Day 5- If the temperature, humidity and altitude are good you will have beautiful bean sprouts on day 5 as you can see that it is about 2 inches long. Now it is the best time to cook it.
There are two little leaves appearing if you see that try not to let it grow anymore or else you will lose some nutrition.
Look at the bean sprouts. They are so uninformed and looking really healthy. You can store this in a bag or container and pop it in the fridge. it will last about five days.
Bean sprout salad recipe
Now let me share a simple bean sprout salad:
- Put the bean sprouts in boiling water and then blanch for 15 seconds. This will remove the raw bean taste
- Take them out and spread them to let the steam evaporate a little bit.
- Add a bunch of carrots shreds, some spring onions shreds, red dried chili shreds. red chili is optional you don’t need to add it if you don’t eat spicy food.
- A little bit grated garlic. Pour 1 and 1/2 tablespoon of hot oil on the top to activate the old aroma.
- Then you can add the seasonings. A teaspoon of Chinese black vinegar, 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon of homemade citron sweet soy sauce.
- Mix the salad and you can serve.
This is the simplest way you can use your bean sprout. Besides salad, there are many ways that you can use this bean sprout.
I hope you try to grow it soon. If you did leave me a comment, let me know how it goes.
FAQs on growing bean sprouts
🌱 How long do bean sprouts last?
Bean sprouts have a shelf life of around fourteen days, but if stored appropriately, they can easily last as long as about a month and a half in a refrigerator. If the bean sprouts are stored in a freezer, they can last for significantly more, for example for as long as a quarter of a year (3 months).
🌱 Can you freeze bean sprouts raw?
Indeed, you can freeze bean sprouts. Because of their high water content, previously frozen bean sprouts won’t be as firm and crunchy as fresh, however, they can still be utilized as an extraordinary addition to your preferred dishes. To safeguard as much of their original crunchy surface, blanch bean sprouts before freezing them.
🌱 What are the best sprouts to eat?
Here is the rundown of 5 best sprouts you should grow to eat: Mung Beans, Radish Sprouts, Broccoli Sprouts, Crimson Clover, Mustard Sprouts.
🌱 Should I boil sprouts before eating?
Sprouting helps microscopic bacteria to grow so it’s ideal if sprouts are cooked to kill the bacteria. Also, raw sprouts contain irritating substances which are deactivated by cooking. Simply steam or bubble them in water until delicate.
Thank you for reading until the end.
You may also like to read our article on how to grow mint (Pudina) in water.
