Soya Bean Sprouts are different from Mung Bean Sprouts. The former has a big bean head whilst the latter is smallish, which is understandable because soya beans are much bigger in size compared to mung beans. In the market, mung bean sprouts (most of the time just simply called bean sprouts) are easily available but not soya bean sprouts. You will also realise that mung bean sprouts have yellow coloured head (bean) after the removal of the dark green coloured skin covering the bean. As for the soya bean sprouts, you can see them above.

Cooking time wise, soya bean sprouts take a longer time to cook due to the bigger sized bean head. In terms of taste and texture, I think soya bean sprouts are slightly heavier in taste (sweeter) and no doubt, crunchier. When you are chewing on mung bean sprouts, you practically can only feel the texture of the body rather than the bean. I think soya bean sprouts are also more nutritious as what soya beans are famed for. If you can get your hands on the ingredients, try out this simple stir fry recipe.

This is the recipe for Stir Fried Soya Bean Sprouts with Ikan Bilis

 

Ingredients

• 150 grammes of soya bean sprouts (remove tail / root)
• 30 to 50 grammes of ikan bilis (medium sized, remove head and split half to remove bones)
• 3 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• Some warm water
• 3 tablespoons oil (palm or peanut oil)

 

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
• salt to taste
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• a pinch of msg (optional)

 

Method

Rinse ikan bilis and drain dry.

Heat oil in wok and fry ikan bilis till golden brown. Remove and set aside.

Clean the wok, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil and add garlic. Stir fry for about 5 seconds on high heat, add soya bean sprouts and stir fry briskly. Add seasoning and sprinkle some water to keep moist. Do not pour water as this would make the dish soggy. The sprinkling of water will create steam which would hasten the cooking process.

Stir fry for about 2 to 3 minutes (or until the soya bean sprouts are soft to your liking). Just before dishing up, return ikan bilis to wok and stir well.