Kaleo' Eats

Mung Bean Salad

Every once in a while I really enjoy bean sprouts or mung beans, and there's somethng fresh about a mung bean salad with a Asian twist. You can eat warm or cold, either way is tasty.

Ingredients
1 Bag Mung Beans
1/4 sweet onion
1/2 stick carrot shredded
10 ounces firm tofu
1/2 cup dried Shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup green pepper
1 cup snow peas
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
3 Green onion stalks
2 Garlic cloves

Dressing

2 Tbsps Sugar
2 Tbsps Sesame oil
1 Tbsps Sweet Rice vinegar
1 Tbsps  Mirin
2 Tbsps Soy Sauce
1 Tbsps Oyster sauce
1 Tspn powered ginger
1/2 Tspn coarse cracked pepper
1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes  

Instructions

Dressing
In a bowl, add the dry ingredients, sugar, ginger pepper then the wet ingredients and mix until all incorporated, set aside. Add a stalk of green onions chopped fine.

Beans
While you could eat the beans as they are, I rinse them thoroughly first. In this case I blanched them in chicken stock for about a minute. I also blanch the snow peas while I'm at it. I quench the beans in cold water to stop them from cooking any further. Same with the Snow peas.  I usually blanch the snow peas a little longer, but it depends how crunchy you like them, I like mine medium crunchy. Drain and set aside both the beans and peas.

Peel a good sized carrot and shred. I have a shredder to shred the carrots in nice long strnads, but you could also just use the peeler to cut long strips. Rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms (you could also use fresh mushrooms) in a bowl of water, I add a drop or two of soy sauce too.

In a small sauce pan, add a 1 tablespoon sesame oil let it heat up add the tofu which you cubed into 1 inch  squares or however you like them. Season with salt and pepper, Now add the sweet onion which you have finely julienned and sauté for couple of minutes, add the garlic which you peeled crushed and chopped. Sauté just till tender, you don't want them too limp. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place the drained Mung Bean into a mixing bowl being very gentle the beans are very fragile so handle gingerly. Add all the vegetables and mushrooms after draining. Add the dressing and mix by tossing the ingredients in the mixing bowl. You can eat it now or chill it for later... Bon Appetite!

___________________________________________________