Bean Sprouts: Why the hell not?

Seeing as this is a side dish based on bean sprouts, I don’t really have a whole lot to say about it except that I saw a 1lb bag of the thicker super crunchy style of bean sprouts in the produce section and thought, “hmmm.” Then, instead of adding sprouts to a stir-fry, I figured I’d make the sprouts the stir-fry. (Why the hell not?)

It was a moment of pure sprout Zen.

BEAN SPROUT STIR-FRY

(serves 4 side dishes)

Ingredients:

vegetable oil to coat the wok (or large frying pan)

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 celery rib, thinly sliced on the bias

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1 lb bean sprouts

dash of soy sauce

big squirt of sriracha sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat up wok, add oil to coat bottom and sides.

Add onions, ginger, garlic, celery and carrot. Toss around for a minute. Add sprouts and soy and sriracha and salt and pepper. Toss for two minutes, taste for seasoning and serve.

An inspired side

It has been said that the average North American evening meal rotates around the same 5-8 dishes each and every month. Pizza Tuesdays, fish stick Fridays, and so on and so forth. Boring!

And if the main courses are that uninspired, just imagine how lackluster the accompanying side dishes are: Baked potato Mondays, sliced tomato Tuesdays, creamed corn Thursdays, etc.

Well, I’m here to change all of that. For starters, I’m putting two vegetables together that don’t necessarily go together, and then I’m adding some sweet heat and browning them off in the oven.

Say hello to Sweet & Spicy Butternut Squash and Green Beans Saturdays!

SWEET & SPICY BUTTERNUT SQUASH & GREEN BEANS

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

2 big handfuls green beans, tipped, washed and dried

1 medium butternut squash

1 tbsp sriracha sauce

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

pinch of sea salt

Method:

Cut squash in half lengthways, scoop out seeds, then place cut-side down in an inch of water in a microwave dish. Cook on high for 10 minutes, then rinse in cold water or let cool, and when not too hot to handle, cut into wedges and slice pulp off of skin as you would a melon.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To a baking sheet lined with foil, pile on prepared green beans and squash, and toss with sriracha sauce, brown sugar, olive oil and salt. Spread out evening on pan, and roast for about 15 minutes, or until there’s a little browning going on, tossing once midway. Serve alongside a boring workaday main course.