Hello Foodies! How are you this Tuesday?
It was Friday last week, that I started germinating 2 cups Mung beans to make my homemade sprouts. It takes about 4-6 days to be able to harvest them. I made two batches, yesterday was time to harvest them. When I harvest the sprouts, I always cut the roots because they look more appetizing, then I wash them, let them drip to remove excess water and put on a clean cloth to dry a bit before placing in a container, then to the fridge to keep them fresh. If used in salads I would advice to blanch them before consuming. I always cook them within 3 days after the harvest.
The Basics of Germinating Mung Beans
The steps are simple...
1... wash 1 cup of mung beans and in a container soak the beans overnight. Drain the water and transfer to a container (or collander) lined with a clean cloth. Cover the container with a kitchen towel and add weight on top of it to force the beans to root at the bottom. Spray the beans with water daily, cover the container with a dark cloth and place in a dark and airy area. There are germinating containers available online , you may want to take a look at Amazon.
2... After 2 days, remove the weight and spray with water again....repeat the process until the 4th day. The sprouts should be taller on the 4th day already..... then it´s time to harvest. Remove a handful of the sprouts and cut the roots at the bottom.
3... Wash all the cleaned sprouts and let dry on a piece of kitchen cloth. Put them in a container and place in the fridge. It can stay fresh up to three days.
Let´s cook the Stir Fry Veggies topped with oyster mushroom.
I have oyster mushrooms and I have added that in this cooking. The Oyster mushroom is really a delicacy. It substitutes the meat because it taste like one. I always go to my favorite Turkish Mini Mart because there I can get it very fresh. It only costs 3.50 Euros a kilo. If I would buy it in Supermarkets, it would fetch a price of 2 Euros for 200 grams.
And so.....
Marinate the oyster mushrooms with enough soy sauce (about 2 tablespoons) mix with your hand just to coat the pieces, add ground black pepper... Let stand for 15 minutes.
In a hot pan with 2 Tablespoons olive oil, fry the musthrooms, always stir slowly, when it´s turning brown, then sprinkle with Teriyaki sauce so it has that sweet salty taste. Transfer to a platter and save until needed.
Cooking the Veggies....
I have not stated the quantities of each vegetables, but you may decide on your own which veggies you may want to include...but please remember to balance the amount of mung bean sprouts in relation with the quantities of your vegetable ingredients.
In a hot pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil, fry the garlic followed by the onions.
Add all the vegetables and stir fry most of the time until the veggies become semi soft. Add 1/2 cup of water, continue stirring until the liquid almost evaporates.
Boil water in a casserole, blanch the sprouts quickly , remove and add this to the veggies. Combine well turning the heat to low.
In a cup, dilute 3 teaspoons of cornflour in one tablespoon water. Add the cornflour to 1 cup of vegetable stock (or water) and mix well. Add this to the cooked veggies. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon soy sauce and spice with salt and ground black pepper according to your taste preference.
Note:
Should you wish to cook this with lesser liquid, then add only half cup of the vegetable stock with diluted cornflour. Remember to stir carefully until the liquid becomes thicker and all veggies are coated with it.
Top with oyster mushroom and serve hot with either baguette or any bread or cooked rice.
Happy Cooking!
All images are owned by @mers
