Brace yourself. Here come another two weird Asian ingredients that you will either love or hate:

Mung bean sprouts
Tofu puffs

How does that sound? Good or bad? I say good. Let's talk a little bit about these ingredients, shall we?

The Mung Bean Sprouts

I've come across so many people in life who hate bean sprouts with a passion. In Thailand we use mung bean sprouts in our stir-fried noodles and noodle soups a lot. People who hate mung bean sprouts will order anything that normally comes with them without them. And if they ever see one accidental white strand in their food, many of them will go as far as returning it.

It's certainly not their fault if they have specifically said they don't want bean sprouts. Besides, I know that mung bean sprouts have this smell that you either love or hate. If you've never tried them, I suggest you try and see for yourself. 🙂

The Tofu Puffs

For as long as I can remember, my mother has always made bean sprout stir-fry with tofu puffs. I'm sure some people use pork and it's fine, but I enjoy it more with tofu than meat. There are MANY types of tofu, and again you can use any type you want. I don't recommend anything soft, though, as it will break when you stir.

Personally, I like to use tofu puffs because it has a fun, chewy texture. Also, there are a lot of air pockets in it, which means it will absorb the liquid in the stir-fry and won't taste bland. At most local Thai markets, you can get tofu puffs in strings. Those tofu squares you see in the picture above are from just a string and as cheap as 25 baht. Yes, all of that! As they normally hang these tofu strings out in the air, I recommend soaking the tofu and squeezing the water out a few times before use for hygienic reasons.

Here's another important question. What can you enjoy mung bean sprout stir-fry with?

Rice - As simple as that. We eat most Thai dishes with rice. Although you can just have stir-fried mung bean sprouts with rice, I think most of us usually have another dish that's a bit more flavorful in the same meal. This could be a curry or a spicy Thai salad. Just to balance things out, you know.

Plain congee - Mung bean sprout stir-fry is great with plain congee (or kao tom in Thai). When we have plain congee, we don't ever have it with one side dish. In other words, we go big, we don't go home! The mung bean sprout stir-fry is more of a high-fiber side, and you might also have things like the Thai egg salad and Thai garlic pork to eat the congee with as well.

So, I hope you've learned a bit more about how we make and enjoy this quick and easy mung bean sprout stir-fry in Thailand. If you're a fan of mung bean sprouts, give this recipe a try. You'll love it!

OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

📖 Recipe