Simply Cooking: Mung Bean Sprout Rice

Who hates mung bean sprouts? I certainly don't. And if do, this recipe might just do the trick. The reason why most people hate vegetables because they are done incorrectly. I mean, there's no such thing as correct or wrong in cooking but there's a way to make it taste better than usual. :)

Tips for dealing with "green" (think Asparagus), "yellow" (think passionfruit) smelling vegetables:

1. Use cooking wine. It does the trick and gets rid of the smell. Wines can range from Chardonnay (Western cooking), Rice wine (Korean/Japanese) or Hua Tiao/Xsiao Shing (Chinese) when it comes to greens.

2. Don't overcook them! When you first introduce them to heat, it will appear dull. Then it will brighten up to a beautiful colour and will start to go darker from there. At some point, it will turn brown! As the colour gets darker, and is still crunchy, you should remove the pan from the heat!

3. Blanching works for veg like Kai lan, asparagus, brussel sprouts. Blanching them before stir frying in sauce removes 60 percent of the smell. Don't ask me how I know. I happen to inherit my mother's nose. :)

4. Butter and olive oil works especially well to add fragrance to vegetables like brussel sprouts and asparagus. It kicks the "green" smell away! If you add truffles to these vegetables, the green smell will be replaced with a lovely, earthy aroma.


Tips for "spicy" (think onions/Capsicum) tasting vegetables:

1. Overcook them if you want to get rid of the spiciness. I don't really mind it but I know some people who do. Vegetables like onions, capsicums, aubergine and shallots, should be introduced first when it comes to cooking. Don't hesitate. Just cook! They rarely lose colour. In fact, they taste sweeter!

2. The wine trick applies here too. Onions when cooked in wine, takes up the sweetness of the wine.

I hope you guys find this helpful. These things are passed down to me by my mom. :)

Okay, time to prese! nt this simple recipe.

Recipe: Mung Bean Sprout Rice (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

A:
-1 clove of garlic, finely minced
-1/2 tsp of sesame oil
- 300 grammes of mung bean sprouts
-1 capsicum, chopped
-1/2 cup of frozen peas

B: (Mix together to form a sauce)
-A dash of cooking wine (sake)
- 1.5 tablespoon of soy sauce
-1.5 teaspoon of sugar
-A pinch of pepper

C:
-Two bowls of cooked rice

Instructions:

1. In a pan, heat up sesame oil. Use medium gas. Add in garlic. Stir till fragrant.
2. Add in capsicums. Stir until half cooked (if you prefer it slightly spicy like me) or else, cook till it softens a little.
3. Add in mung bean sprouts and frozen peas. Add in sauce from list B.
4. Stir until mung bean sprouts appear slightly wilted but still crunchy. Takes about 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
5. Finish off with more pepper.
6. In two large bowls, each containing rice, top rice with the mung bean sprouts and greens.


We had it with a wide array of banchan!
Kosari and torandae namul


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Side bites: You can opt not to read this.

1. My face can be described by two phrases: "god awful". Thanks to the purging session. ! In a way , I'm glad it's happening because it means that the products are working. Most of the products that I've used before left my skin itching (alcohol content) or does nothing. On the other hand, it's bad because I don't even know how am I going to go out and have lunch tomorrow with a face like this! No, people, I don't use foundation or the likes. I don't believe that a foundation or concealer can improve my current situation. Basically, every single bump on my face is visible! And looking at my sister's "god awful perfect" skin is not helping!!!!!! Her skin is so perfect, I CAN COUNT HER BLACKHEADS. In contrast, my skin is so horrible, there are countable patches of perfect skin (there are three). If one day (I'm giving it 10 weeks, even my doctor is) my skin does clear up, I'm going to present Rationale and VCI with a blog post. Sorry, I just needed to let this out. I know I'm obsessed over my skin at the moment.

2. I called my mom who's chilling out in Madrid just because I can. Thanks to International Home Phone Plans. :)

3. I'm thinking of Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney's, Bloomingdales, Bendels, Le Benardin, Jean Georges, La Maison du Chocolat, LADUREE... all the nice things that I will have when I'm in New York.

4. It's been a productive day. I have successfully chowed down two weeks worth of stats, two weeks worth of neuropsych lectures... and finished my Taiwan essay. FINALLY!

5. My university ranks no. 8 in psychology around the world. I cannot believe this because I have pretty lousy lecturers for what I consider to be an important subject. For me, a good uni is filled with 80 percent good, dedicated lecturers who won't give fail grades just because the admin lose your paper, tutors who give consultation hours in spite of being underpaid and leave lots of comments in your essay.

6. I'm in my final stage for my braces. They will (hopefully) come off soon after my US trip. Will there be pictures? Only if my skin cl! ears up by that time. :)

That's all I have to say.