What sprouts?

The humble taugeh of course, what else.

I just learnt to grow my own taugeh; into my umpteen batch now. I can now enjoy fresh crunchy taugeh any time I want without having to go to the supermarket or wet market. Taugeh does not keep well in the fridge too.

Why on earth for? Taugeh is cheap enough at around rm2 per kilo at most. Besides the convenience factor, the main consideration is safety. Heaven only knows what growth stimulants the commercial growers saturate the mung beans for them to grow fast and thick as well as last long on the shelf. Too bad I can't raise my own fish, chickens, goats and cows in my apartment

Google 'bean sprouts' and you'd get hundreds of sites teaching you how to grow sprouts. Not just bean sprouts, practically all kinds of sprouts. Maybe I will try those others later.

The process is practically idiot proof, even for those who are all thumbs. All you need are mung beans; a few plastic jars with mesh covers, water and patience. Plastic jars that are about 6 inches in diameter and 8 inches height are ideal for a start. The mesh covers I used were recycled from a plastic mesh bag which held garlic bulbs. The mesh size was just small enough to prevent the beans from falling through. Anything will do, even your wife's stockings – just use a new one, with her permission of course. Use rubber bands to hold the mesh in place.

Cleaniness is of utmost importance here. First sort and discard foreign matter from the beans, then wash each batch thoroughly until the water runs clear. Beans that float are bad, chuck those out. Place enough beans to cover the bottom of the jar. Fill with water – rule of thumb is thrice the height of the beans. Secure jar mouth with mesh & rubber bands. Leave in a fairly dark place for 8 hrs, then pour out the water and rinse the beans; leaving mesh in place. If an unpleasant odour is detected, identify and discard the bad beans, wash again and replace in jar, then seal with mesh and refill water. Do this for 2 days, on the third day, pour out all the water – make sure you drain it well.Then replace jar in dark place; repeat rinsing and draining every 12 hrs. Watch the transformation. The beans will begin to sprout and can be harvested at 2inch lengths about 2-3 days later.

Try to avoid absolutely dark places like closets or cupboards, air circulation is important. You will need at least three batches to ensure continous supply of home grown taugeh.
Adjust bean quantity to cater for your consumption rate.

The sprouts you get won't be as long and fat as those available in the market because commercial growers use chemicals and gases to promote accelerated growth. One difference is the greenish hull of the homegrown sprouts; market bought sprouts are black in colour.

Won't save you much cash, but it is fun and safe to eat too.

Bynote : Ipoh taugeh being well known for their crunchiness and fat stalks are widely attributed to the use of well water in sprouting them. I don't really believe this; probably just a smokescreen propagated by the producers to hide widespread use of chemicals and gases.