Spicy Korean Bean Sprout Salad

This recipe for Spicy Korean Bean Sprout Salad is a light, delicious side dish consisting of blanched bean sprouts in a spicy and flavorful sauce.

What are bean sprouts?

Bean sprouts typically refer to mung bean sprouts, which are a long white sprout from growing mung beans.

Mung bean sprouts are commonly used in Chinese and Southeast Asian dishes, including beef chow fun noodles, laksa, char kway teow and pho.

Soy bean sprouts are another type of sprout, which is sprouted from edamame or soy beans.

Soybean sprouts are used more in Korean dishes and have a more robust, nutty flavor compared to mung bean sprouts.

How to choose bean sprouts

Bean sprouts are a fragile vegetable that loses freshness quickly.

Choose sprouts that are fresh and crisp, with a white appearance. 

Avoid sprouts that are limp or brown/beige in color. 

Why you'll love this recipe

This Korean Bean Spouts recipe is a spicy version of kongnamul and is:

Super simple: just mix the sauce together and dump in the bean sprouts and green onions.

Delicious: bean sprouts are typically quite bland and flavorless so adding them into the sauce gives them vibrant flavor.

Great paired with other dishes: it's often served as banchan, which means side dish in Korean, along other dishes such as spicy  beef bulgogi, pork bulgogi, Korean sweet and salty braised potatoes, and Korean mixed grain rice.

Naturally vegan: this spicy bean sprouts dish is naturally gluten-free and vegan.

Minimal in ingredients: besides the bean sprouts and green onions, most of the other ingredients are in your pantry or fridge.

Ingredients you'll need

• bean sprouts: traditionally, soy bean sprouts are used, but you can also use mung bean sprouts
• green onions: also known as scallions 
• rice vinegar: for a little tang and sweetness
• chili oil: omit if you don't want it too spicy
• gochujang (Korean chili paste): a thick, red pepper paste used in many Korean dishes, including bibimbap, budae jiggae
• gochugaru (Korean red chili powder): you can sub with regular chili powder if you don't have it on hand 
• kimchi: fermented and pickled Korean cabbage, vegetables and chili pepper
• granulated sugar: adds a little sweetness to balance out the savory flavor
• sesame oil: adds a little toasted sesame flavor and aroma
• sesame seeds: toasted (to garnish)

How to make it

Blanch the bean sprouts:

Rinse the bean sprouts well and drain.

Bring a pot of water up to a boil.

Add in the bean sprouts and blanch for 1-2 minutes.

Drain the bean sprouts in a colander and rinse under cold water.

Tip: rinsing the bean sprouts under cold water prevents them from being overcooked and keeps their crunch.

Drain well.

Assemble:

In a large bowl, combine rice vinegar, chili oil, gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, kimchi, and sesame oil. 

Add in the drained bean sprouts and green onions.

Toss to combine and garnish with sesame seeds.

Serve immediately.

If not serving immediately, place into the fridge uncovered until ready to serve.

How to serve

Serve the Korean bean sprouts side dish (banchan) along with steamed rice or noodles, along with other dishes such as spicy Korean cucumber salad, beef bulgogi, spicy pork bulgogi, braised potatoes, or kimbap.

How to store

It's best to enjoy the spicy bean spouts salad within 1 day of preparation.

Store the sprout salad uncovered in a container in the fridge for up to 1 day. (This is to let the bean sprouts not get too soggy. Alternatively, you can lightly cover it with plastic wrap and poke some holes for some ventilation. 

Do not freeze bean sprouts. The sprouts will not withhold the freezing and thawing cycle. 

Expert tips

Bean sprouts tend to go limp and lose freshness very quickly.

Once you wash bean sprouts, they will decay quickly. Wash the sprouts just prior to using them.

You can prepare and mix the sauce ahead of time.

If you don't like spicy, you can omit the gochugaru chili pepper and gochujang red pepper sauce.

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