HOW TO SPROUT MUNG BEANS AND OTHER LEGUMES

Home grown sprouts, no special equipment needed.

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56 hours

Sprouting Mung Beans and Other Legumes
Makes: approximately 4 cups sprouts

- 1 cup mung beans (or peanuts, garbanzos, or any other bean, or a mix of beans)
- 4 - 8 cups water, or enough to submerge any bean you're using by at least 2 inches

1. Rinse the mung beans.
2. Put the rinsed beans in a large bowl and add all the water. Soak overnight (8 - 12 hours, but really up to 24 hours is ok too). 
3. Drain the water and put the beans back in the bowl. (It's ok if some water is clinging to the beans, you don't want them to be totally dry. You don't want too much water in the bowl, because otherwise they'll just spoil and smell bad. If this happens, throw the beans away and restart at step 1.)
4. Cover the bowl with a damp cotton kitchen towel and leave at room temperature. After 8 - 12 hours, rinse the beans, drain, and put them back in the large bowl.
5. Repeat step 4 three or four times until you have sprouts with a 1/2 to 1 inch long "tail".
6. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Notes:

1. Beans absorb a lot of water within the first 8 - 12 hours, so make sure to soak in plenty of water.
2. Sprouting time will vary with bean size - larger beans like garbanzos will take a longer time to sprout.
3. Sprouted peanuts are terrific, lightly steamed or raw in salads.
4. I've never tried sprouting kidney beans because I don't really like them so the only time I cook them is if it's for someone else, by request. But I suppose they'd sprout.