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SCMP Reporter

LOCALLY grown and absolutely fresh, bean sprouts are one of the best buys in markets these days.

  Two sorts are sold and it is important to know the difference. One is edible raw while the other is not. Here are the details: Soy bean sprouts. The general term in Cantonese for sprouts is nga choi meaning ''sprout-vegetable''; those with the large yellow beans attached are, appropriately enough, called dai dau nga or ''big head sprouts''.

  These are sprouts of yellow soy beans and, like all soy beans and soy bean products, they are slightly poisonous when raw. These sprouts are, overall, more robust than mung bean sprouts (see below), and appear aligned - or even tied - in bunches.

  Soy sprouts are one of the most nutritious, delicious, and economical fresh vegetables available. Soy beans have high levels of protein and oil, which make them comparable in food value to meat and eggs and which give them a rich, nutty flavour. The process of sprouting produces an additional complement of vitamins to enhance their food value.

   They will keep best submerged in water in a container in the fridge.

  Before cooking, trim the ends by chopping off the lower third of the roots.

  When cooking, think of them as a form of soy bean rather than sprouts. Certain ''anti-nutritional factors'' must be transformed to bring out their best qualities. This can be accomplished through several hours of boiling or by a few minutes of cooking ata temperature somewhat above the boiling point. Hence, the typical first step in any Cantonese dish incorporating soy sprouts is to parch them.

  Toss them into a very hot wok (without oil) and stir them for three or four minutes until they wilt and exude a fragrance of cooked bean. Then proceed to make soup, braise them in a casserole, use them in stir-fry dishes, or parboil for use in salads. An excellent vegetarian stock can be made with soy sprouts (parched), carrot, black mushrooms, and ginger.

 Mung Bean sprouts: In contrast to the soy sprouts, mung sprouts have small green heads (often with two tiny leaves protruding) and are sold in jumbled heaps. They are called simply nga choi or ngun nga choi, when the heads and tails have been removed (a cosmetic procedure for the restaurant trade).

   Like soy sprouts, store these covered with water to extend the lifespan of whole mung sprouts to a week. Ngun nga will last only a day or two, no matter what you do.

  You may top and tail them - certainly the sprouts will look better and possibly they will cook more uniformly - but few people consider the effect worth the bother.

  These sprouts may be eaten raw. They may also be cooked, which is far more common. According to Chinese nutritional theories, mung sprouts, like the parent mung beans, have cooling properties which mean that, for balance, they should be combined with ''warming'' companions. Virtually any meat will do (the Shanghainese particularly like eel with sprouts; the Cantonese like roast pork with theirs); carrots, spring onions, and mushrooms are appropriate for vegetarians.



Beans are sprouting everywhere