In this bleak winter, eating more bean sprouts is both affordable and healthy. However, bean sprouts tend to release a lot of water when cooked, which destroys their nutrients, and can sometimes give off a beany smell. How can you stir-fry delicious and nutritious bean sprouts? Here's a little trick for you—add a little vinegar.
Because bean sprouts are the tender shoots of legume plants, their tissue is loose and they contain a high amount of water. Bean sprouts are rich in water-soluble vitamins, especially Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, and Vitamin B2, which are sensitive to heat, alkali, and oxidation. However, they suffer less loss in an acidic environment. Therefore, adding a little vinegar when stir-frying bean sprouts helps the vitamins to be retained and prevents them from oxidizing easily. Additionally, bean sprouts contain a beany flavor that many people dislike. Although this can be mostly eliminated by stewing or stir-frying for a long time, this process also makes the sprouts lose their crispness. By adding vinegar, you can not only shorten the cooking time but also achieve the goal of eliminating the "beany flavor" while maintaining a crisp texture.
Stir-frying Mung Bean Sprouts
So, the correct way to stir-fry bean sprouts is to heat the oil in the wok, add the sprouts, and then add vinegar after about half a minute (use about one tablespoon of vinegar for every four liang of sprouts). But don't add too much vinegar, as it will affect the taste and color of the sprouts.
Adding Vinegar for More Nutrition: These Six Dishes Are Also Suitable
Cold Radish Salad
The juice of radishes contains a pigment called anthocyanin, a type of water-soluble pigment that appears reddish in an acidic solution and purplish-blue in an alkaline environment. When making a cold radish salad, adding a suitable amount of vinegar not only serves as a disinfectant but also makes the dish's color more vibrant, improving its sensory quality.
Cooking Fresh Chili Peppers
Fresh chili peppers are rich in vitamins A and C and can whet the appetite. However, their intense spiciness is not always tolerable for everyone. Therefore, adding a little vinegar when cooking fresh chili peppers can reduce the spiciness. This is because vinegar can neutralize some of the capsaicin in the peppers, removing most of the heat.
Braised Pig's Trotters
If you add a little vinegar when braising pig's trotters, it makes the protein in the trotters easier for the human body to digest, absorb, and utilize. This is because the main component of pig's trotters is collagen, which easily breaks down from the trotters in hot, acidic water. It also causes the胶质 in the bone cells of the trotters to break down, releasing phosphorus and calcium, thereby increasing the nutritional value.
Simmering Small Fish and Braising Pork Rib Soup
Animal bones are rich in calcium, but this calcium mainly exists in the form of compounds and is not easily dissolved during stewing. Adding vinegar when simmering small fish or braising pork rib soup can help dissolve the calcium from the bones, making it easier for the body to absorb.
Radish and Pork Rib Soup
Sliced Lotus Root and Potatoes
Sliced lotus root or potatoes quickly turn brown. This is because the polyphenol substances in the lotus root or potatoes are oxidized under the catalysis of polyphenol oxidase. Adding a little vinegar can inhibit the activity of the oxidase, preventing them from changing color.
Stir-frying Red Cabbage
Purple-red vegetables like red cabbage and eggplant are rich in anthocyanin. They appear a beautiful red under acidic conditions but turn blue or black under alkaline conditions. Therefore, when stir-frying purple-red vegetables like red cabbage, adding a little vinegar can make the dish's color more vibrant and red.