Japanese Marinated Beansprouts

Japanese Marinated Beansprouts

I have always loved the marinated beansprouts from ramen restaurants, and can finish off several helpings even before the ramen arrives. While having Ippudo in Osaka, I thought of trying to make it myself as it shouldn't be too difficult.

I searched for recipes online, but had to modify and experiment quite a bit before getting the exact taste I wanted. It also tastes better after you have left it overnight in the fridge, as the beansprouts would have soaked up all the seasoning and flavour.

Ingredients:

300g of beansprouts

1 tablespoon of baked sesame seeds

2 tablespoons of sesame oil

2 teaspoons of light soy sauce

2 teaspoons of Japanese seven spice powder (or chilli powder for more spiciness)

0.5 teaspoon of salt

Black pepper

Instructions:

1) Immerse the beansprouts in water for 10 minutes or so. Clear away as much dirt and sediments as possible, along with the stray roots.

2) Boil a pot of water, then add the beansprouts in. After around 2 to 2.5 minutes, remove the beansprouts and run them under tap water to cool them down quickly.

3) Mix the sesame seeds, sesame oil, light soy sauce, salt, black pepper and Japanese seven spice powder together in a mixing bowl.

4) Drain the beansprouts as much as possible. This is important - if the beansprouts are still wet, the excess water the dilute the seasoning.

5) Add the beansprouts into the mixing bowl and mix well.

6) Leave it in the fridge, preferably overnight.

For the beansprouts, I used the Sakura brand. I tried another brand during one of my experiments and it turned out quite disappointing. Sakura's beansprouts also seemed a lot cleaner than other brands.