Ginisang Munggo (Sauteed Mung Beans) and a Bunch of Awards

Munggo or Mung Bean which is the small, ovoid in shape variety of beans is a favorite ingredient in the Philippines. It comes in brown, yellow and green color. The brown is usually used for desserts, while the yellow and green ones are commonly used for this savory dish called Ginisang Munggo (Sauteed Mung Beans).


Ginisang Munggo which is usually cooked with shrimps or flaked fish and bitter gourd tendrils, is traditionally served on Fridays, as the majority of the Filipino population are Roman Catholic and abstain from meat on Fridays, even outside of Lent. I love cooking it any day of the week though!  And I usually cook it with shrimps and crispy pork belly, and since bitter gourd tendrils aren't available here, I use spinach leaves instead.

It is one dish I grew up eating frequently. Not only do I enjoy the ginisang munggo, I also enjoy eating the freshly boiled munggo with sugar and milk for snack. So whenever my mom was cooking ginisang munggo, she would always save a bowl of the boiled munggo for me.

For non-Filipinos, this may not look so appealing, but we Filipinos really love it...and I'm telling you, whenever we cook it, it always doesn't last very long on the table!!!

Check out my Ginisang Munggo recipe and let me know what you think!

I'm sharing this on Mangia Mondays, Mouthwatering Mondays, Hearth and Soul Hop Hub, Temp My Tummy Tuesdays, Tuesdays At The Table, Delectables Tuesdays and Tasty Tuesdays.

Ingredients:
  • 1 14-oz. pack green Munggo (Mung Beans)
  • ½ lb pork belly, sliced in ½ “- thick rectangles
  • 10-12 pcs shrimps, peeled and deveined
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 thumb-sized ginger, julienned
  • 1 medium-sized tomato, diced
  • 1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and trimmed
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 12 cups water
  • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil or pork oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
1. Sprinkle pork belly with salt. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
2. In a large sauce pan, combine water and munggo, and bring to a boil over medium heat. When boiling, add a tablespoon of salt, and lower heat to medium low. Keep on cooking until beans are soft and outer shells are separating.


3. In a skillet, cook sliced pork belly in ½ cup water until water evaporates and oil starts to come out. Turn heat to low and while constantly tossing, cook pork until golden brown. Remove pork from pan and set aside. 


4. In the same skillet, saute tomatoes, ginger, onions and garlic until the tomatoes are soft.


5. Add shrimps and sauté just until shrimps turn to light pink. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. 


6. Transfer everything to the saucepan with boiled munggo. Add fish sauce. Add salt & pepper to suit your taste. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

7. Add the spinach and crispy pork belly. Simmer for a minute or two.

8. Remove from heat! Serve with steamed rice! We love eating this with fried galunggong (Mackerel Scad).


On another note, my dear friends, Lyn of My Lil Messy & Cheeky and Manu of Manu's Menu showered me with this bunch of awards which I'm truly so thankful for:


Once again, I feel so happy and honored! Though this isn't the first time I received these awards, knowing that there are people out there who believe in me and who consider me as their friend is truly so overwhelming! Manu and Lyn are two of those few bloggers who I consider close to my heart. Not only do I admire their blogs and their passion for cooking, but much more, the goodness in them. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Lyn & Manu for these awards! I really feel so blessed to have known them!

For those of you who haven't visited their blogs, do so now...I'm telling you, you won't regret it! 
Manu's Menu and My Lil Messy & Cheeky - you'll love them!

20 comments:

  1. Ciao Tina,
    Sai io non conosco questo fagiolo, però il tuo piatto sembra invitante...buonissimo.Ti volevo come vicina di casa, perché cosi potevo assaggiare queste cose buone che tu sai fare.
    Un bacione
    Lu

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  2. Congrats on all the awards!
    This soup looks really wholesome and comforting. I've never had mung beans as a savoury before, it's always been a sweet porridge-type dessert or in cookies during the Chinese New Year. Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Hi dear! Nice to see you cooking such delicious things! Color is just amazing and it is with shrimp..

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  4. Yet another great recipe! In Italy we use mainly lentils... and we make a soup that looks similar to Ginisang Munggo. I love learning so much about Filipino food! :-)

    Thanks for your lovely words... you deserve each and every award and I too consider you a dear friend! <3

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  5. Thanks ladies!
    @Medeja: I'm so glad to see you back here!

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  6. Hi Tina! I did heard of this Philipino dish but never see it before until today in this post of yours. Mung Bean is most commonly known as Green Bean in SG. We cooked this as a dessert (Green Bean Soup) with pandan leaves, rock sugar/brown suagr and mini sago pearls to be served either hot or cold. So when the 1st time I heard about cooking it as a salted dish, I felt funny about the taste (sorry, pardon me on this as I never try before) but now, when I saw this Ginisang Munggo, I wanted to try it immediately! This looks so delish, so much appealing than I imagined! (No wonder cathy loves this so much) :D
    Congrats on all your awards Tina! You really deserved them! :D Tks for all your sweet lovely compliments. I'm also very glad and feel so blissful to have known you+all your yummy recipes! Tks for your encouragements and supports all these while in my blogging days! :D

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  7. I love looking at your ginisa photos. I could certainly use a bowl of this. It's been raining here since yesterday.

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  8. That looks wonderful. I've never cooked with pork belly before... but otherwise it seems like a pretty straightforward dish... I think I might have to try this.

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  9. This soup looks and smells incredible ... well at least I can imagine the smell as I look at that beautiful photo and the list of ingredients. Another great dish! And congrats on your awards, you truly deserve them

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  10. i miss munggo.. this has been my fave when I was still small.. :)

    Thanks for following my blog.. I'm now following you too.. God bless!

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  11. I actually like mung beans - a lot. And your versions sounds like it is chock-full of flavor. Yum!

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  12. Hi, Tina!
    You had me at pork belly, gf! haha, You know us koreans love our pork belly! I've been into soups these days, and this soup looks very appetizing! =]
    xoxo,
    Juju

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  13. You are just racking up the rewards~Congrats!

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  14. Hi Tina! What?! I'm not Filipina, but I'd LOVE to try this. It IS appealing!! Photograph a brown object is really hard and you did such an awesome job, too. I love pork belly in this recipe. So delicious! Congrats on your awards! Everyone knows you are doing well. ;-)

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  15. Thanks Nami! You're always so nice & sweet! :-*

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  16. WOW . everytime i learn a new dish from you. LOVE the flavor combination you used :)

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  17. Hi sweet friend! I loved your recipe; so, I'm a new follower now. I invite you to know my blog and enjoy it.

    http://kibe-cozinhandocomamigos.blogspot.com/

    Kisses from Brazil!

    Luiz.

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  18. Tina,I beg to differ but your soup looks quite appetizing with all those delicious shrimps floating on top. I didn't really know how to use mung beans,the recipe is very helpful.

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  19. Hi Tina,

    I'm just curious about the FISH SAUCE. What is the brand of the one that you are using for? My husband will not go any closer to food that has a fish sauce or shrimp paste at all.

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    Replies
    1. Hi,
      I use a Thai brand fish sauce called Three Crabs. It's less salty and smelly compared to Filipino fish sauce.

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