Bean sprout

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See sprouting for sprout vegetables in general
Kongnamulguk. Korean bean sprout soup
Moyashi
Nam ngiao with bean sprouts sprinkled on top

Bean sprouts are a common ingredient, especially in Eastern Asian cuisine, made from sprouting beans.

The typical bean sprout is made from the greenish-capped mung beans. Other common bean sprouts are the usually yellow, larger-grained soy sprouts. It typically takes one week for them to be completely grown. The sprouted beans are more nutritious than the original beans and they require much less cooking time and, therefore, less fuel.

In Asia

Soy sprouts are used in most countries in East and Southeast Asia.

Names in Asia

  • Chinese – Mandarin – pinyin: douya, dou ya, dou-ya, huangdouya; da dou ya or da dou-ya
  • Chinese – Cantonese - Jyutping: daai6 dau2 ngaa4 coi3, ngan6 ngaa4 coi3; wong4 dau2 nga4; dau2 ngaa4; ngaa4 coi3
  • Chinese – Mandarin – Wade–Giles: touya, huangtouya, huang tou ya or huang tou-ya*
  • Chinese - Taiwanese / Ho-lo / Hokkien: tāu-gê (豆芽), tāu-tshài (豆菜)
  • Filipino: toge, utaw, tamyaw
  • Indonesian and Malay: toge, tauge (taugé) (of Chinese origin) or kecambah
  • Japanese: daizu no moyashi
  • Khmer / Cambodian: sondek bondos
  • Korean: kongnamul or kong namul or k’ong namul *
  • Thai: thua ngok
  • Vietnamese: giá hoặc giá đỗ
  • Burmese: Pirl Pin Pouk (ပဲပင္ေပါက္)

Use

Bean sprouts can be microwaved, or stir fried. They may also be used as an ingredient, e.g., for spring rolls before applying heat.

In Chinese cuisine, common dishes that may use bean sprouts, known as Dòu Yá ("豆芽"), are fried rice, spring rolls, egg drop soup, and hot and sour soup.[1] In Korea, it is one of the staple ingredients for Namul. They are used in Vietnamese cuisine as well.

In Japanese cuisine moyashi (もやし) refers to, in a strict sense, the mung sprout. The soy sprouts are known as mame-moyashi (豆萌やし,糵).[2] Bean sprouts are a common ingredient in many Japanese dishes such as stir fries and soups.

They are used in Thai cuisine, usually eaten in soups and stir-fried dishes. In Phad Thai they are often added in to the pan for one quick stir before serving and in soups such as Nam ngiao they are sprinkled on top of the dish.[3]

Health concerns

Bacterial infection

FDA health warning on a sprouts package

Commercially grown sprouts have been associated with multiple outbreaks of harmful bacteria, including salmonella and toxic forms of Escherichia coli.[4] Such infections, which are so frequent in the United States that investigators call them "sproutbreaks",[4] may be a result of contaminated seeds or of unhygienic production with high microbial counts.[5][6] Sprout seeds can become contaminated in the fields where they are grown, and sanitizing steps may be unable to kill bacteria hidden in damaged seeds.[4] A single surviving bacterium in a kilogram of seed can be enough to contaminate a whole batch of sprouts, according to the FDA.[4]

To minimize the impact of the incidents and maintain public health, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada issued industry guidance on the safe manufacturing of edible sprouts and public education on their safe consumption.[7][8] There are also publications for hobby farmers on safely growing and consuming sprouts at home.[9][10] The recommendations include development and implementation of good agricultural practices and good manufacturing practices in the production and handling of seeds and sprouts, seed disinfection treatments, and microbial testing before the product enters the food supply.

In June 2011, contaminated bean sprouts in Germany were identified as the source of the 2011 E. coli O104:H4 outbreak.[4] In addition to Germany, where 3,785 cases and 45 deaths had been reported by the end of the outbreak,[11][12] a handful of cases were reported in several countries including Switzerland,[12] Poland,[12] the Netherlands,[12] Sweden,[12] Denmark,[12] the UK,[12][13] Canada[12] and the USA.[14] Virtually all affected people had been in Germany shortly before becoming ill.

Antinutritional factors

Some legumes, including sprouts, can contain toxins or antinutritional factors, which can be reduced by soaking, sprouting and cooking (e.g., stir frying). Joy Larkcom advises that to be on the safe side “one shouldn’t eat large quantities of raw legume sprouts on a regular basis, no more than about 550g (20oz) daily”.[15]

Phytic acid, an antinutritional factor, occurs primarily in the seed coats and germ tissue of plant seeds. It forms insoluble or nearly insoluble compounds with many metal ions, including those of calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc, reducing their dietary availability. Diets high in phytic acid content and poor in these minerals produce mineral deficiency in experimental animals (Gontzea and Sutzescu, 1968,[16] as cited in Chavan and Kadam, 1989).[17] The latter authors state that the sprouting of cereals has been reported to decrease levels of phytic acid. Similarly, Shipard (2005)[18] states that enzymes of germination and sprouting can help eliminate detrimental substances such as phytic acid. However, the amount of phytic acid reduction from soaking is only marginal, and not enough to counteract its antinutrient effects [19]

Canavanine

Alfalfa seeds and sprouts contain L-canavanine. L-canavanine is potentially causing lupus-like disease in primates.[20]

Standards and Regulations

EU Regulation

In order to prevent incidents like the 2011 EHEC epidemic, the European Commission has issued three new, tightened regulations on March 11, 2013.

  • Regulation (EU) No 208/2013*[21]

The origin of the seeds has to be traceable always at all stages of processing, production and distribution. Therefore, a full description of the seeds or sprouts needs to be kept on record.(see also Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002)

  • Regulation (EU) No 209/2013*[22]

This regulation amends Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 in respect of microbiological criteria for sprouts and the sampling rules for poultry carcases and fresh poultry meat.

  • Regulation (EU) No 211/2013*[23]

Imported sprouts or seeds intended for the production of sprouts need a certificate according to the model declared in the Annex of this regulation. The certificate serves as proof that the production process complies with the general hygiene provisions in Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and the traceability requirements of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 208/2013.

Growing Moyashi

Sprouting mung beans in a jar

There are different techniques on this subject: what technique to use depends on the amount of moyashi that one wants to collect. The main principles are: selecting good seed (new and uniform), ensuring that light reaches the seeds and also ensuring they receive enough humidity, but avoid water content.[24]

See also

References

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External links

  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
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