How to Sprout Mung Beans in a Milk Carton
In this blog post, we'll take you through the step-by-step process of sprouting mung beans in used milk cartons, providing you with an eco-friendly and budget-friendly solution to growing your own sprouts.
Yield: 64 oz
Equipment
- 2 Milk cartons (You can use 1-liter milk cartons or coconut water cartons)
- 1 scissors
- 1 kitchen towel
Materials
- ½ cup Mung beans
- Water
Instructions
- Soak ½ cup of mung beans in plenty of cold water for 12 hours. (Using ½ cup of mung beans can yield sprouts sufficient to fill 2 milk cartons. If you prefer beginning with a smaller batch, simply adjust the quantity to ¼ cup of mung beans for filling just 1 carton with sprouts.)
- Thoroughly wash 2 milk cartons and allow them to dry. Then, cut off the 8 corners from each carton to form small holes. Make sure these holes are small enough so the mung beans won’t fall through.
- After soaking, drain the water from the mung beans. Place the drained mung beans in the prepared milk cartons. Put the lid on.
- Position the milk cartons horizontally and gently shake them to distribute the mung beans evenly across the larger side of the carton. Loosely cover the milk cartons with a kitchen towel to block light. Place the cartons out of direct sunlight and at room temperature.
- Rinse the mung beans twice daily, every 12 hours, using cold tap water. For rinsing, just open the lid and pour water over the top opening, letting it flow out through the holes at the bottom. This method maintains moisture in the beans and prevents mold buildup, while also promoting sprouting.
- When rinsing, try to keep the lights off (if it's too dark to see clearly, I would opt for turning on just the hallway light to allow a faint light to come through, rather than turning on the kitchen lights), and draw the curtains to protect the sprouts from direct sunlight or artificial light exposure. After rinsing, gently shake the cartons to ensure no excess water remains before re-covering them with a kitchen towel and returning them to their original spot.
- The sprouts will be ready to harvest in about 4 to 6 days, depending on your room temperature. You'll notice the milk cartons becoming heavy and swollen, indicating it's a good time to pull out a sprout from the top opening to check if they've grown to your preferred length.
- Once you are ready to harvest your mung bean sprouts, cut open the cartons and transfer the sprouts into a large bowl. Rinse the sprouts thoroughly under cold running water. Drain them using a colander or salad spinner.
- After washing, the mung bean sprouts are ready to be used. You can add them raw to salads, using them in spring rolls, stir-fried noodles, bibimbap, or simply stir-frying them with eggs for a nutritious meal. Alternatively, store them in the refrigerator in a Ziploc bag for up to 3 days.