In this bleak winter, eating more bean sprouts is both affordable and healthy. However, bean sprouts release a lot of water when cooked, which destroys their nutrients, and they can also develop a beany flavor. How can you stir-fry delicious and nutritious bean sprouts? Here's a little trick—add a little vinegar.
Bean sprouts are the tender shoots of legumes, with a loose structure and high water content. They are rich in water-soluble vitamins, especially Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, and Vitamin B2, which are sensitive to heat, alkali, and oxidation. However, their loss is minimized in an acidic environment. Therefore, adding vinegar when stir-frying bean sprouts helps preserve these vitamins and prevents oxidation. Additionally, bean sprouts contain a beany flavor that many people dislike. Although prolonged cooking can mostly eliminate this, it also makes the sprouts less crispy. Adding vinegar not only shortens the cooking time but also achieves the goal of eliminating the beany flavor while maintaining a crisp texture.
Therefore, 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 one spoon of vinegar for about four liang of sprouts). However, don't add too much vinegar, as it can affect the taste and color of the sprouts.
Adding Vinegar for More Nutrition: These Six Dishes Are Also Suitable
Cold-dressed radish: Radish juice contains a pigment called anthocyanin, a water-soluble pigment that appears reddish in acidic solutions and purplish-blue in alkaline environments. When adding vinegar to cold-dressed radish, it not only acts as a disinfectant but also makes the dish's color more vibrant, enhancing its appeal.
Cooking fresh chili peppers: Fresh chili peppers are rich in vitamins A and C and can stimulate the appetite. However, their intense spiciness isn't 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 while braising pig's trotters, the protein becomes easier for the body to digest, absorb, and utilize. This is because the main component in pig's trotters is collagen, which easily breaks down in hot, acidic water, causing the gelatin in the bone cells to release phosphorus and calcium, thereby increasing the nutritional value.
Simmering small fish and stewing pork rib soup: Animal bones are rich in calcium, but this calcium exists mainly in compounds and is not easily dissolved during cooking. Adding a little vinegar when simmering small fish or stewing pork rib soup helps dissolve the calcium from the bones, making it easier for the body to absorb.
Sliced lotus root and potatoes: Sliced lotus root or potatoes quickly turn brown. This is because the polyphenols in the lotus root or potatoes oxidize under the catalysis of polyphenol oxidase. Adding vinegar can inhibit the activity of this oxidase, preventing discoloration.
Stir-frying purple cabbage: Purple vegetables like purple cabbage and eggplant are rich in anthocyanin, which appears a beautiful red in acidic conditions but turns blue or black in alkaline environments. Therefore, adding a little vinegar when stir-frying purple cabbage and other reddish-purple vegetables makes the color more vibrant and bright.