Ginisang Munggo (Mung Beans)

This is a popular bean dish in the Philippines and is one of our favorites here. But the dish in the picture is an Americanized version. That is, the ingredients I used here are not the original ingredients if it were cooked in the Philippines. My American husband accepts it and he even loves it. My children and even my grandchildren love this too even if it is “green”.

Traditionally, this dish contains flaked smoked fish. That was the reason my husband and kids did not like it when I first served it. I learned not to include those ingredients that are not palatable to them and that changed things. Also, bitter melon leaves is the signature of this dish but they are not available here. I replaced it with spinach and it is just as good.

Mongo beans are now common in super markets. It didn’t used to be. I had to make a special trip to China Town to buy them with other Asian food supply.

1 ½ cups mongo beans, washed and drained
5 to 6 cups of water
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 med. Onion diced
1 stalk celery diced small (optional)
¼ cup diced or julienned salt pork (omit if using other substitutes listed below)
1 TBS, fish sauce (Patis) optional
1 Ham bouillon cube
1-10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (cut or chopped or leaf) (fresh spinach will be good also)
1/2 cup Link sausage (optional) cut in small rounds or omit and substitute chicharones with fat attached, or tinapa flakes
Salt, pepper

Substitutes for salt pork:

Bacon cut in small pieces
Chicarones with fat attached, broken in smaller pieces
Fresh pork with fat, diced small
Diced leftover ham or smoked picnic or shoulder

Boil the washed beans in 5 or 6 cups of water until they split, about 20 minutes or so. Remove from fire and set aside.

In a skillet, put the salt pork (if using) and add about ¼ cup water and boil until the water has evaporated and the fat is rendered from the pork. Fry in its own fat until golden brown then push it to one side or remove from the skillet.

Do the same procedure as above if using bacon pieces or fresh pork. Add a dash of salt with the fresh pork.

Sauté the garlic until golden and add the onions and sauté until soft then add the celery. Saute together for one minute then add the patis if using. Drop in the sausage if using and stir, cook for a minute or two. Transfer them to the pot of beans, stir to mix and put the pot back on the fire and bring it back to boiling. Add the ham bouillon and the spinach and simmer until the spinach is cooked, about 2 minutes. Add a little more water if it gets too dry. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The sausage that I added here is extra. Originally, this dish does not ever call for any sausage or any meat except shrimp and pieces of salted pork. I added the sausage to give it a little meat for body and interest. Smoked pork hocks and/or cubed ham are some other meat additions that would be good. Also, flaked smoked fish called “tinapa” is also sprinkled on top before serving. You can use ground chicharones to sprinkle on top instead.

Bitter melon leaves are the greens used in the Philippines to make this dish but they are not available here except if you have planted it yourself. As replacement, I use spinach leaves and it tastes comparable but without the bitterness. It is more accepted in my family than the bitter melon leaves. Celery is not used in the Philippines in this dish but I found it is very good with it. The celery added a new dimension to it.

Some people add tomatoes after sauteeing the onions but I do not think it adds to the flavor, but the celery does.

We eat this with steamed white rice as a main dish but it is good eaten by itself or as a side dish. A good complement to this is pork crackling or chicharrones dipped in garlic and vinegar. Sliced pickled jalapenos are also good. I add them to my Patis in a little saucer and I take a slice and add it to my spoon of rice and beans when I take a bite.

And the reason my husband turned his nose from this when I first served it and I didn’t know, was the main ingredients of this dish, which were the flaked smoked fish and the bitter melon leaves. He did not like them and still doesn’t. However, he loves this dish now that I replaced those ingredients he did not like.