Soybean sprout is a culinary vegetable grown by sprouting soybeans. It can be grown by placing and watering the sprouted soybeans in the shade until the roots grow long. Soybean sprouts are extensively cultivated and consumed in Asian countries.
The earliest surviving textual references to soybean sprouts are found in Chinese sources. The Shennong bencao jing (compiled no later than the Han period) mentions dadou huangjuan (大è±Âé»Âå·), a term later medical commentators glossed as âÂÂsoybean sproutsâÂÂ. Chinese agricultural literature also records methods for producing bean sprouts; the Nongzheng quanshu states of sprout cultivation that âÂÂsoybean sprouts are done the same wayâ (大è±Âè½åÂÂæ¤).
In Korea, soybean sprouts are documented by the early 13th century. The Hyangyak gugeupbang records them under the name daedu-hwang (大è±Âé»Â), and later Korean works describe their cultivation and culinary use.
Soybean sprouts later became an important ingredient in several East Asian cuisines.
Soybean sprouts are one of the most common and basic ingredients in Korean cuisine. In Korean, the word kongnamul () refers to both the soybean sprouts themselves and the namul (seasoned vegetable dish) made from soybean sprouts. The namul dish, made by stir-frying soybean sprouts with sesame oil and simmering it, is a common dish for jesa (ancestral rite). Another common side dish is kongnamul-muchim, made by seasoning boiled soybean sprouts. Soybean sprouts are also used in bibimbap and varieties of jjim dishes, such as agwi-jjim (braised angler). Sometimes, kongnamul-bap (rice cooked with soybean sprouts) eaten with herbed soy sauce constitutes a rustic meal. Clear soup made with soybean sprouts is called kongnamul-guk, which can also be served cold in summer. Kongnamul-gukbap or kongnamul-haejangguk (soybean sprout hangover soup) is usually served in a ttukbaegi (earthenware pot) with the rice in the bottom and the soup poured over the top. In contemporary South Korea, a spicy pork bulgogi dish made with a large number of soybean sprouts, called kongnamul-bulgogi (or kongbul, is popular among young people.
In Nepalese cuisine, kwati, a soup of nine types of sprouted beans, is specially prepared in the festival of Janai Purnima which normally falls in August. Kwati is prepared by frying and mixing onion, garlic, ginger, potatoes, spices and bean sprouts, including soybean sprouts. Much variation exists from house to house. The kwati is normally eaten with rice. Sometimes meat (especially fried goat meat) is added to spice up the kwati.