Ginataang Munggo na may Baboy at Langka (Mung Bean Soup)

Monggo (Mung-go) also known as mung beans, are a type of legumes that is mainly grown and cultivated in parts of Asia. In the Philippines, munggo can be use as an ingredient for dessert or serve as a main dish. Filipinos commonly prepare the dish with coconut milk (gata), fish sauce, combine with many local spices.

On a cold day, I think about making soup. I remember about the familiar taste of the many soups from my college years. One of the soups I had is the cheap and nutritious ginisang munggo (sautéed mung beans). This soup was regularly served for lunch in the eatery nearby the college campus I attended. I enjoy the dish when the eatery cooked the soup with coconut milk.

As far as I know, this particular dish is widely prepared in Iloilo and Antique area of the Philippines. They usually put batwan (bat-wan) or Garcinia Bunicao as a souring agent in this Visayan cuisine. I cannot find any batwan where I live so I used lemon as a substitute and to my surprise I achieved the taste! I would love to hear from you about the origin of this type of soup. Please feel free to comment at the bottom of this page.

Below are the ingredients that make the tasty, yet savory, bowl of soup I remember from my college years!

 

Prep Time: 10 min.

Cooking Time: 1 hr. and 10 min.

Serves: 6

 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pork belly – cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 can of 280 g (~10 oz) jack fruit in can-drained and cut into bite sized pieces

• ½ cup mung beans
• 2 cups water – for boiling the mung beans
• 3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
• 1 medium size onion – diced
• 1 stalk lemon grass – bruised, folded and tightened with kitchen twine

• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 medium sized tomato – diced
• 1 can 400 ml (~14 0z) coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 cup of water – for cooking the pork

 

Instructions:

1. Wash and rinse the mung beans.

2. Prepare a pot with 2 cups of water.

3. Put in ½ cup of mung beans. Bring to boil in high heat then adjust the heat to medium low. Simmer for 30 to 35 minutes.

4. In a separate pan of medium high heat, add the cooking oil then sauté the garlic until golden brown.

5. Add the onion and cook for about 1 minute, then put in tomatoes. Stir mixture until the tomatoes feel soft.

6. Add the pork and lemon grass. Pour in 1 cup of water. Bring to boil for 30 minutes in medium low heat.

7. Add the coconut milk and bring to boil in medium low heat for 25 minutes.

8. Add in the cooked mung beans and jack fruit. Add fish sauce and ground black pepper. Let it boil for 15 minutes in medium high heat.

     Note:1 You may add more liquid if you decide to not heavily thicken the soup.

    Note:2 You may also add more salt or fish sauce according to your preference for taste.

9. Serve warm with steamed rice and enjoy!