March 20, 2011

Munggo Guisado for Kulinarya Cooking Club



Thank you to Erika of Ivory Hut for choosing vegetables for our Kulinary Cooking Club theme this month. Many choices came up and I wanted to cook them all, from the classic Pinakbet (Filipino Vegetable Stew) to Adobong Sitaw, my favorite way of preparing string beans to Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelet), a simple two-ingredient dish that my kids adore.

So cook I did but one major problem: no pictures! One dish was eaten up right away so there were no leftovers for a pictorial. For the other dish, I made sure to make plenty and had set it aside but come to find out the camera had no battery! By the time I got around to getting batteries, sadly the dish was all eaten. The last dish I just completely forgot to take pictures. I know, bad food blogger! ;)


So down the wire, last night I thought of something simple I can prepare today. Luckily, I have most of the ingredients I needed, plus I got to cook something perfect on this cold, rainy day: Munggo Guisado, a soup made of mung beans. This dish comes about fairly quick since the beans are so small, they only take minutes to boil. A quick saute of garlic, onions and tomatoes (the trinity of Filipino cooking) along with shrimp makes this a quick meal.


I remember having to pick malunggay (moringa) leaves off one by one and adding them at the end of cooking. I have not seen any but found spinach as a good substitute. Now thinking arugula would be great as well.

I've also topped my dish with chicharon (pork cracklings) which my family always does when we eat Munggo Guisado. When I mentioned this to my husband, he went out in the rain to get some. :)  This is totally optional and usually omitted during Lent when we served this on meatless Fridays. Tinapa (smoked fish), or even just fried fish goes great with this. Also, Paksiw na Bangus (Milkfish stewed in Vinegar) is my parent's favorite to eat with this. I have not eaten that in years so of course, now I'm craving it! :)


Munggo Guisado
(makes 6-8 servings)

2 cups dried mung beans
1 lb. shrimp (with heads) peeled & deveined, (head & peels reserved)
2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 TBSP bagoong alamang (shrimp paste)
1 bunch spinach (or arugula)
chicharon (optional)

Pick through the mung beans for debris, rinse in water and place in pot. Fill to about an inch of water and let it boil over high heat. Once it boils, lower heat and let it simmer until beans are tender, 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally and add water as needed.

Once beans are boiling, make shrimp stock. Place reserved shrimp trimmings in small pot and add 2 cups of water. Let it boil then simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and reserve broth.

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook quickly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onions and cook 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent, do not brown. Add tomatoes and continue to cook, smashing them to give off the juice. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Add the bagoong and stir a few seconds until it is fragrant ;) Then add the shrimp, stirring to get the shrimp coated with the tomato mixture. A soon as the shrimp is starting to turn pink and opaque, pour in the boiled mung beans and shrimp stock. Turn heat up high and let it boil quickly.

Once it boil, turn off heat and add the spinach and stir. There will be enough heat to wilt spinach (also prevents  overcooking). Serve hot.


Please visit my fellow Kulinarya members for their Vegetables creations:

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/
Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/
Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/
Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/
Ninette - http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/
Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/
Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/
Asha - http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/
Malou - http://www.skiptomalou.net/
Cherrie - http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/
Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/
Valerie - http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/
Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/
Divina - http://www.sense-serendipity.com/
Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/
Dahlia - http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/
Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/
Maribel - http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/
Tressa
Jen - http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/
Pia - http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/
Malaka - http://thegrandinternational.com/.
Mimi - http://lapinchecocinera.blogspot.com/
Erika - http://ivoryhut.com/
Kat - http://www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk/default.aspx
Lala - http://thislittlepiggywenttothemarket.blogspot.com/
Selfie - http://eats.sefiebee.com/
Connie Veneracion - http://homecookingrocks.com/
Oggi - http://oggi-icandothat.blogspot.com/
Katrina Kostik - http://lardonmyfrench.blogspot.com/
Rochelle Ryan - http://www.whydiss.blogspot.com/
Marica - http://cuppycreme.blogspot.com/
Diona - http://titaflips.blogspot.com/
Rowena - http://saraplicious.blogspot.com/

19 comments:

Tangled Noodle said...

I love this dish but I haven't had it since moving here! I really should make this for my husband because he enjoys bean and legume dishes - I bet he'd love the chicharon on top, too. This is a delicious, hearty, comforting meal!

SKIP TO MALOU said...

My daughters are home and they've been cooking home cooked meals since Friday. When they saw me read your post, the list had added one more dish.. and yes you're right this guisadong mongo of yours.
perfect for this rainy, hazy day... YUM!

xo,
Malou

Elizabeth Q said...

Great post on Mungo! Love the pics, sure made me hungry!

Wok with Ray said...

I just want to pour the whole thing on top of my rice and then patis on the side. Your ginisang mungo looks sooo good and I think the chicharon is the culprit that is making me hungry. Thank you for sharing. Ray

Cherrie Pie said...

I love munggo but have to admit, I've never cooked it myself. I've always relied on my mum to cook it for me. But with this recipe, I'm going to give it a go. :)

Ninette said...

This looks great. I want a bowl. I'll take some bangus too. I love the dried bangus, stinky as it is.

chef_d said...

Wow your munggo guisado is making me very hungry! What a great idea to add shrimps and chicharon *drool*

peachkins said...

I love munggo guisado with chicharon!!!

Annie said...

I've always wanted to cook munggo guisado for myself, and now I've got the right recipe!

adorasbox said...

This is the best looking monggo I have ever seen. I love this dish but don't cook it anymore. My husband, who's Malaysian, only eats monggo in sweet dishes and finds our monggo soup really weird.

Liren said...

All that munggo chatter on Twitter yesterday, and now I finally see your post - ach, I'm off to Ranch 99 and will look for some munggo :)

Rowena @ Saraplicious! Kitchen said...

Mungo Beans is one of my favorites. I love it with Ampalaya Leaves and a side of vinegar. I have not made this for my family but I will try one of these days. Thanks for sharing!

Oggi said...

Ginisang munggo with chicharron, sarap! I just had dinner half an hour ago and now I'm hungry again.:)

Unknown said...

That looks great.

cusinera said...

Oh yes, ginisang munggo with chicharon and prawns, so sinful and delicious. Wonderful leafy ingredients alternatives...will keep them in mind=)

Jen said...

For some reason, mom always cooks this dish with lumpiang gulay or sometimes fried bangus...and sooo nice too on a rainy day (just like previous comment).

Caroline said...

Tracey: I think it's time to get cooking with munggo & don't forget the chicharon.

Malou: I hope you and the kids got to enjoy munggo on their spring break.

Elizabeth: Thank you, was happy to get some light in between the rain.

Ray: yes on the rice & patis! Thanks for stopping by.

Cherrie: please cook some, it's very easy.

Ninette: Who can resist a stinky bangus? ;)

Chef_d: thank you, please try with shrimp & chicharon, a great combo.

Peachy: me, too! :)

Annie: please let me know how it turns out.

Adora: thank you! I love sweet munggo as well. Cook this savory dish again, your husband might change his mind and like it.

Liren: inspiration always happen at Twitter. Hope you found some munggo.

Rowena: hope I can find amapalaya leaves here or maybe I should just plant some.

Oggi: thank you :)

Joy: salamat!

Althea: the healthy veggies will cancel out the sinfulness of chicharon. :)

Jen: yes, this would go great with lumpiang gulay.

Jun Belen said...

Thank you for your notes in my blog, Carol. Great minds think alike! And great minds share similar stories. Praying in Quiapo on her knees? Your mom's hardcore! :-) It really amazes me how I share the same memories about life back home with people like you. Similar stories. Fond memories.

Lola Lovely said...

WOW, (or should I say WAW hehe) I love your blog! I'm an Australian pinay living in the UK, married to a Samoan New Zealander with 3 young boys who love their food! I love how you showcase our food and your family's reactions to pinoy food. I bought my very first batch of Mungo beans the other day and am looking forward to cooking it. I will definitely try your recipe! x

http://lolalovelypreadored.blogspot.com

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