However, sprouting is not very popular as a household chore here. Sprouts are mostly bought from markets or tukang sayur (vegetable vendors). Here, people consider making sprouts is not so important.

Meanwhile, people in several other countries regard sprouting as a very healthy hobby.

One of the most common types of sprouts found in Indonesia is the mung bean sprout, known locally as tauge or toge (long sprouts) and kecambah (shorter sprouts), which are used in quick stir fries, blanched or cooked, or with other vegetables.

A must in many local salads and sotos, bean sprouts are added to gado-gado, pecel, soto ayam and soto daging. Bean sprouts are also stir fried with many tumis varieties, the most popular of which is tumis kacang panjang (long beans) or kangkung (water convolvulus).

Bean sprouts are also used for various fillings, for example lumpia, or made into fritters such as bakwan tauge which is said to have Indian overtones. Bean sprouts are also a favorite vegetable to combine with tofu, and one of Jakarta’s most famous and popular tofu dishes, available from restaurants to street vendors, ketoprak, is never served without bean sprouts.

Recently, with people here becoming more aware of the importance of nutritional foods, bean sprouts have seen an increase in demand and are increasingly found in various dishes and daily meals.

Many people think sprouts are delicious and can be combined with various other vegetables easily, especially vegetables tender textures such as squash, tomato or onions, or with tender meat, fish and noodles. For those who like to have a juice for breakfast, various sprouts can also be juiced.

Many beans and pulses in Indonesia have specific characteristics. The most renowned are the short sprouts grown from soybeans. In East Java, rawon is not considered complete unless it has soybean sprouts in it. Short soybean sprouts have a very distinctive flavor indeed!

Other sprouts are grown using red kidney beans and kacang tolo. Unlike mung beans, the soy bean, red kidney bean and kacang tolo need to be soaked for 5-10 minutes in rather hot water. The sprouts from red kidney beans and kacang tolo need to be harvested earlier in comparison to mung bean sprouts.

As soon as the tiny sprout is visible, the sprouts can be cooked. When left for a longer period, they tend to become soft and obtain a rather insipid flavor. The sprouts grown from soy beans can be allowed to grow up to 2-centimeter long and are still tasty.

For salad fans, mung bean sprouts are the ideal accompaniments to many salad varieties. And with Thousand Island dressing, a Russian, French or Italian, will be equally delicious! For vegetarians, try bean sprouts with a dressing made from a mixture of salty soy sauce, a dash of bottled chili sauce and roughly ground fried peanuts. Put the salad into a hot toasted or baked French garlic bread.

Sprouting mung beans

The method commonly employed in Indonesia differs slightly to the techniques used in countries with four seasons. Whereas in those countries the mung beans are sprouted in mostly dark cellars, we only use hot water to clean the mung beans and then soak them for 24 hours in cold water. Then the beans are put into a specific bamboo basket or bakul, that has been lined with banana leaves.

A banana leaf also serves as a lid to the bamboo basket. The mung beans are watered in the mornings and evenings, letting the water drain out freely from the basket’s bottom to prevent the growth of mold.

After three days, the sprouts are ready to be eaten, but if you prefer longer sprouts then add a day more.

Mung bean sprouts and other sprouts can be stored for 3-4 days in the refrigerator sealed in a plastic bag. To maintain the crisp texture of the mung bean sprout rinse with water and shake off excess moisture.

For those keen to know the nutritious contents of the mung bean sprout are as follows: complete protein, B vitamins and Fe, Na, Mg, P. Br minerals.

Some tips on growing a good crop: Keep your bean sprouts in the dark for fastest early development and keep them warm. All living things grow best with adequate space and use enough soaked seed to cover the bottom but distribute them evenly (Natural health food).

At most wet markets a stand can be found with someone selling sprouts. Usually for sale are the sprouts of mung beans in two varieties — short and longer. The longer variety is more popular because many vegetable dishes contain the long sprouts.

In Indonesian, mung bean sprouts are known as tauge and the shorter ones are called kecambah (or cambah in Javanese). Meanwhile, the sprouts of other beans are referred to as kecambah, and type of bean used. For instance soybean (kedele) sprouts are known as kecambah kedele.

What are mung beans? According to Allan Davidson who wrote The Oxford Companion to Foods, they are the seeds of a plant called Vigna radiata, a native of India where the bush has long been cultivated.

It is also known in India as green and golden gram, depending on its color. It goes on to mention that there are two main uses in China. The Chinese name “pea sprouts” is used to distinguish them from soybean sprouts. Indonesians call mung beans kacang hijau, which are a very popular ingredient used for porridge that is usually served at breakfast time.

Many who are accustomed to buying breakfast from sidewalk push carts say Madura mung bean porridge is best — because it uses medium-thickness coconut milk.

Why do we need mung bean sprouts? Because they are good for our health.

What about a nutritious week with sprouts galore?

A very nutritional dish is tauge goreng (fried bean sprouts), which originates from Madura: Have on hand 300g bean sprouts, with black parts discarded, 100g oncom (optional) roughly cut, and also cut roughly two tomatoes, one leek and garlic chives. Bring 300ml water to the boil and place the sprouts in it for a short while. Remove the sprouts, drain, and arrange on a serving plate.

Place the garlic chives into the boiling water for a very short while and set aside. Chop the oncom. Make a paste using six shallots, four cloves of garlic, three regular-sized red chilies, five tiny chilies, four bay leaves, a slice of galangal and 4 Tbs good quality taucheo, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt (or to taste) and 2 Tbs cooking oil. Stir fry in cooking oil for 2-3 minutes and mix with the bean sprouts. Serve hot when possible.

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