Dried Bean SproutsDone in a Day, Storage, and a Salted Kombu Recipe

Bean sprouts are cheap and handy, but they start to go bad 2–3 days after you buy them. If you think you won’t use them all, dry them. They shrink a lot and gain savory flavor and crunch.

Thin bean sprouts dry in a single day if it’s sunny, which makes them a good first thing to dry.

	Drying time	Storage
Dry	1–2 days	2 weeks at room temperature (fridge in humid summer)

Drying times assume drying during the day in sunny weather and bringing them in at night.

How to dry bean sprouts

1. Dry them fresh: Bean sprouts lose freshness fast, so dry them the day you buy them or the next day. Don’t use any that are discolored, slimy or smell sour.
2. Pick off the roots: Pinch them off one by one. They look and eat better (if that’s too much work, you can skip it).
3. Wash and drain: Rinse quickly, drain in a colander, then pat dry well with paper towels.
4. Spread out and dry: Spread them thinly on a basket with as little overlap as possible. Put them somewhere sunny and breezy, and toss them lightly partway through so air reaches all of them.

Where and when to dry is covered in How to Dry Vegetables, and tools in Tools for Drying Vegetables.

When they’re done

Dry (1–2 days)

They’re done when they’re thin and wispy and the bean ends are dry too. Ours dried in one day. The bean ends dry last, so pinch them to check.

Day by day

Before drying

Day 1

Storage

• Dry: Put completely dry sprouts in a bag or airtight container with a desiccant, and keep somewhere cool and out of direct sun for about 2 weeks. In humid summer weather, keep them in the fridge.
• Frozen: In a freezer bag, they keep about 1 month.

Fuzzy white or green growth, black spots or a bad smell are signs of mold or spoilage. Don’t eat them; throw them away. More in How to Store Dried Vegetables.

Rehydrating and using them

• Rehydrate by boiling: Put them in a pot with enough water to cover, bring to a boil, and boil for about 5 minutes.
• Use them dry: Add them straight to soups, ramen, miso soup and yakisoba. They release savory flavor and make a good broth.
• Good in: Namul (Korean-style seasoned vegetables), dressed side dishes, stir-fries, spring roll fillings.

Recipe

Dried bean sprouts with salted kombu

Ingredients (serves 2)

• Dried bean sprouts from 1 bag
• A: 3 pinches shio kombu (salted kombu strips), 1 tbsp ground sesame seeds, sesame oil to taste

Method

1. Put the dried bean sprouts in a pot with enough water to cover and heat.
2. When it boils, cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then drain in a colander.
3. Drain well and toss with A.