Mung Bean Sprouts - Home Grown

Sprouts are considered to be the freshest vegetable that stays alive even at the moment when you are about to eat it. They are rich in minerals, vitamins and most of all, proteins. Their extraordinary effects are well known in history and proven by modern medicine.

...In China, up till today, the bamboo sprouts are automatically added to meals not only to increase immunity against skin or digesting troubles or against muscle aches, but also precautionary. English seafarers on their long trips used to eat sprouts to prevent from scorbutic. In Africa the sprouted millet is used to prepare African beer. In Slovakia, we haven’t stayed in the back either, having used wheat sprouts to make malt that prolongs the vitality of yeast, thus keeping bread, yeast dough or cakes fresh in a long run...

In order to sprout, you will need various seeds. In normal state, they are dry and hard guarding a tiny little embryo inside them. They can persist for decades like this. If we create favourable conditions, they start to gather incredible amount of nutrition necessary for them to grow. Then, it is the time to be stingy and stop the sprouting process by a simple bite…

So, now that we know why the sprouts real good for us, lets DO IT!

You can sprout pretty much any grains or legumes, as long as they have not been bated or chemically handled. They need to be whole with the skin. Generally speaking, the soaking time is around 6 hours, water them 2 - 3 times per day and sprouts should not start developing leaves (you re not growing a plant). FEEL FREE TO ASK me all the detailed info about a particular seed.

Here is what I have sprouted in all my sprouting history so far: Chickpeas, peas, lentils, mustard seeds, soy beans, beans, alfa-alfa, mung beans, wheat and peppergrass.

Today I would love to sprout some whole mung beans, since they are the easiest ones to sprout.

MUNG BEAN SPROUTS

• mung beans
  
• Sterilized glass jars with broad mouth
• Gauze
• Elastic band
• water
  

Normally, you would soak the seeds for couple of hours (or overnight) first. BUT!! Mung sprouts are so sprouting-friendly, you can easily skip this part.
Simply, place them in a jar, cover with gauze and fasten with an elastic band. Pour in some water, shake gently and pour out (through the "gauze sieve").
Put the glass side-down and leave. Seeds need to be rinsed regularly 2 – 3 times daily. It is not necessary to take them out of the jar, just fill it with water, shake gently and strain through the gauze.
On the 3rd day stand the jar as normal and fill with lukewarm water. Lazy seeds, that didn’t want to sprout will fall on the bottom of the jar. We do not want those, anyway. Throw them away and enjoy the fresh sprouted ones :-)

And that is it. You can eat them just like that, in salads, pasta dishes, pizza, sandwiches.....

As for other grains and legumes, they all are perfectly safe to be eaten raw, except for sprouted chickpeas, peas, beans, soy beans, lentils and corn. These are recommended to be boiled or stir-fried prior to eating.

Again, feel free to ask me for a specific seed sprouting method or some recipes.

I would like to submit this one to Andrea´s Grow Your Own event.

Home-made (Seasoned) Tofu

Many of you guys seem to be very impressed by me making tofu at home. Well, not that I wouldn't be pleased to hear it (my favorite is : `I thought tofu came form a SOY COW´ ;-), but my modest ME urges me to reveal the truth: Making Tofu from scratch is NOT A BIG DEAL! Trust me, if I can do it, YOU can do it (dramatic music in the background).
I know why you re still hesitating. There are tons of recipes that advise you to have all kinds of thermometers, special dripping containers, ...etc, but my input on those is, unless you are about to win Pretty Tofu Contest this month, don't worry about those...

So, there are two ways of making tofu:

1. Long process (when you start from plain happy soy beans).
2. Short process (when you start from ready-made soy milk).

Either or, you end up having a nice smooth yummy block of warm fresh Tofu:

I have already blogged about making Soy Milk (there is also slide show available), so I will stick to the quick version. (a recipe is easy to multiply, since one liter doesn't feed the cow).

TOFU FROM SCRATCH:

prep time: 50 minutes

• 1 l soy milk
• 1 generous tsp Terra Alba
• 1 dl warm water

Note: Yes, terra alba or gypsum is that white powdery stuff you use to make paper, ceramics or whiten the walls with. HOWEVER, .... you can also use it (in small quantities) to make food items, such as tofu. Now, I don't know how healthy this is, but everybody (who is it anyway?) says that tofu is good for you, so as my primary school mathematician says: If A and B equals C, then A and C equals B... If she wasn't lying to me all those years, then terra alba must be good for you, too... Maybe it whitens your teeth, what do I know?

What I know is how to make a good tofu. There are tons of super elaborate recipes out there, but believe me, no matter how clumsy you are, you will always succeed. The worst you get will be a tofu that crumbles too much.

Bring soy milk to boil, let simmer for 7-8 minutes, let cool to about 75 degrees (no need to fiddle around with thermometer, I usually turn the heat to the lowest and let it stop bubbling for about 5 minutes).
Meantime, mix the terra alba with warm water, so there are no lumps left.
Pour this mixture slowly into the soy milk, mixing constantly. Stop and let the soy milk curdle.
When you see the ´meat´separating from the water, turn of the heat and let sit for another minute or two. Strain carefully.



Transfer the tofu (by now it is mainly a homogenized goo of not really holding together tofu) into a musselin cloth (or something a bit ´airy´) and onto a colander.


Wrap it carefully and heavy with a plate. Let sit in the sink.
The water will drip away and tofu gets firmer and firmer. It is up to you to decide when it is ´ripe´.
Unwrap the cloth, take the tofu out and enjoy.

If you don't want to eat it immediately, transfer to a container that has been filled with water, soak in and close. Keep in refrigerator. The water keeps it fresh. However, eat within 5 days (change the water once or twice)...

Now, this much for the plain tofu. Now what I like to experiment with is:

1. Savory variety
2. Sweet variety
   

Often times when making tofu (right before I wrap it to let the water drip away), I like to add diferent spices (cumin seeds, paprika powder, black pepper, oregano and salt is a good combo) and let sit to absorb all the flavors.

My sister, on the other hand, likes to add vanilla or cinnamon-flavored sugar.
Both taste great.

Soy Milk, Okara and Yuba Trio

Ever since I spent two years studying in China, I gave up drinking milk and its soy version became a great part of my everyday life. After I came back to Slovakia the soy milk 'craze' hasn't quite hit the town back then (yup, not even two years ago and I mean the capital city)... Therefore, I was forced to find my own way. Gradually I became accustomed to 'milking my own soy cow' on a weekly basis. It turned out to be a lot of fun (and mess :) and even today, with all kinds of soy products flooding the market, I still enjoy brewing my own milk. I learned how to make couple of litres in little more than half an hour. Less time spent than going to the store nearby to fix one... And it is incredibly cheeeapooo :) Here in Sweden, I buy a 2 kilo bag for 20 SEK (almost 3 whole USD)... You know what I mean?

Just do the math with me:
125g dried whole happy soy beans turn into:




(1 liter) and







(big bowl) and







(1 thick round piece)





(Verbal explanation: up top - vanilla and cocoa powder flavored chocolate soy milk, in the middle - blended and squeezed soy leftovers called OKARA and below - soy 'skin' called YUBA formed during cooking the soy milk)

As for soy milk, I don't think it is necessary to go into the usage details (just think of regular cow milk), unless you plan on making tofu (recipe comming SOON). However, most people do not realize how useful okara or yuba can be. I even have friends that throw these away (sigh), because they simply don't know what to do with it. Well, my dear frugality mindless friends, I hope this article will be of use to you.... I will post some more recipes for okara later, meantime here are just a few inspirational ones I made today:

There are numerous ways of utilizing okara. Here are my two most favorite...
.... dry roasted and used as crispy topping on salads, when baking casseroles instead of breadcrumbs, coated in honey and topped on cakes...



... baked with a bit of flour and buttermilk (to form clusters) as breakfast cereals... (I usually add honey, nuts, flax seeds, shredded coconut...)...


Additionally, you can boil or steam them and use to make patties or spreads...

Did I convince you now? NOT YET?

Ok, we haven't talked about the third awesome by-product when making soy milk. And that is YUBA (soy skin). Very rich in protein, the kind you would usually throw away, but don't. I tell you why... Actually I let Mahanandi tell you instead...

How gorgeous? Well, I can only give a few more (less patient) suggestions. I usually pick the skin out with chopsticks, cut into stripes and dip in soy sauce mixed with chopped garlic, chili and ginger.

Today, however, I tried something brand-new.














Pretty, eh? My own invention: Deep fried yuba balls (well, kind of...)

Method:
Pick out the yuba skin formed during cooking of the soy milk and cut in half. Pick out in the middle with chopsticks and let it stick to a string. Tie a knot in the middle (carefully). Pat the corners inside (yuba is very sticky so forming a ball should not be a problem). Let dry a bit. Heat oil in a wok, deep fry until golden (yuba starts puffing and deforming). Scoop out with a ladle and roll lightly in seasoning (I used a mixture of paprika powder, salt and curry powder). EAT and Enjoy!!! I kid you not it tasted just like fried bacon-bits...

And now... Lets finally talk a bit about the 'milking' process.
As for the preparation of soy milk itself, there are a few methods out there. Some people cook the beans first (like me) and then squeeze out the milk. Some vice versa... (I am not really sure about the logics of this method). Anyhow, the result is creamy, creamy milky soy milk..

Enjoy Milking The Soy Cow :) with me and view the story on the 'Big Screen'...
--- or little:

So, here is a question ? What do I make with soy milk?
And here are some answers:

• Use it instead of coconut milk (less fat) in recipes like Thai Panaeng Curry
• Use it in baking to make Poppy Seed Banana or other muffins