Ginisang Munggo-Sauteed Mung beans

I grew up with this dish, my Mom used to prepare ginisang munggo as a menu for Tuesday and Friday. Behind that tradition, it is not clear to me why she cooked munggo only in specific days.

Ginisang munggo is my Dad’s favorite, and amazingly my husband’s Filipino dish favorite too. Even though he is not Filipino my husband just loves it so much.

There some ingredients variation in cooking ginisang munggo, like it is cooked with shrimps, smoked fish flakes, pork and pork rinds. Try this recipe and hope you will love it too.

 Ingredients:

7 oz. mung beans

1 medium size bitter gourd, sliced

½ lb. pork belly, cut into strips

3 tomatoes, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup chopped onion

2 cups spinach

2 cups chicken broth

3 Tbsp. fish sauce

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

Procedure:

1. Use a large pot to boil the mung beans, first is wash the mung beans under running cold water.

2. Add about 3 cups water.                

3. Boil the mung beans to get tender and soft.

4. Once it’s boiled, heat olive oil in a large saucepan.

5. Brown the meat and set aside.

6. Sauté garlic and onion using the same oil until fragrant.

7. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté for 2 minutes, then the bitter gourd.

8. Add the boiled mung beans and meat, simmer for 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth as necessary to add more flavors.

9. Season it with fish sauce and add the spinach. Simmer for a minute.

10. Serve with fried fish and steamed rice.