vegetablecrisp · watery · grassy · beany · clean

Bean sprouts

Grown in the dark in three days flat, and the only vegetable in most stir-fries still crunchy on the plate.

on its own

0.0sour

1.0sweet

0.0savoury

0.0bitter

0.0umami

order · canon first

1 of these 9 are wild — theory says yes, nobody has cooked them. why →

9 pairings for Bean sprouts.

classic

Tossed raw at the very end, off the heat, or the crunch is gone before it reaches the table.

classic

Salt and savour on a vegetable that otherwise brings nothing but water and crunch.

common

Thirty seconds in hot oil, no longer, or the whole point of adding it is lost.

common

Fat and heat give a blank vegetable the only flavour it is going to get.

common

A cold-dressed salad version leans on acid since the sprout itself has none.

uncommon

Green allium on top is the standard finish once the sprouts are off the wok.

uncommon

Numbing tingle against a vegetable whose whole job is texture, not taste.

rare

Umami dust on a vegetable that supplies none of its own, a Cantonese habit more than a rule.

wild

Salty roe on a blank crunchy vegetable, an accidental resemblance to a garnish it was never meant for.