Mongo Guisado

Mongo or Mung Beans is also known in different names. It is known as green beans, green gram or green soy. The term "Mung" is the English term for Mongo. It is derive from Hindi term Moong. In the Philippines it is known as Monggo or Munggo. Mung beans are commonly used in Chinese cuisine as well as in Japan, Korea, India, Thailand and Southeast Asia. In the Philippines Monggo beans is commonly sauteed with garlic, onions, and meat.


I'm always planning to cook Monggo Guisado or Ginisang Monggo. So when I got the chance last week I cook Ginisang Monggo for our dinner. According to an old ad age Monggo Recipe is a poor mans dish as to why, I don't know the reason. There are so many variations in cooking Ginisang Monggo and let me share my Monggo Guisado Recipe.

Ginisang Mongo Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 cups green monggo beans(mung beans)
* 2 tbsp oil
* 2 tomatoes, chopped
* 1/2 small onion, chopped
* 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1/2 cup diced pork
* 1 cup small prawns, peeled, heads discarded
* 4 cups shrimp broth
* salt to taste

Soak the (mongo)mung beans in about 2 cups water for 4 hours or you can just boil the mongo beans without soaking until soft or most of the water has been absorbed. Set aside. Heat oil in a casserole and saute onion, garlic and tomatoes until soft. Add diced pork and saute until golden brown. Add small prawns saute for 2 minutes. Stir in mongo beans and instead of adding water add shrimp broth and bring to a boil until pork is fully cooked. Put some salt according to your taste and here's the finished product.

Usually, I'm adding squash on my Ginisang Mongo to add the thickness but since squash is not available in my fridge I need to use only the available resources I have. Eggplants, okra and talbos ng kamote (tender leaves of the sweet-potato) are also added if it's available. For some people they are adding chicharon to add some taste.

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Bicol Express

"Bicol Express is the name given to Sinilihan, a popular dish which originated in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. It is a stew made from long chilies (siling labuyo, lada panjang in Malay/Indonesian), coconut milk, shrimp paste or stockfish, onion, pork, and garlic. It is said to have evolved from gulay na may lada, another Bicolano dish which is nowadays also presented as one of the many variants of Bicol Express." Source From Wikipedia

Basically the original Bicol Express is a lot different from what is being introduced here in Manila and some other places. According to some Bicolanos the original Bicol Express has less or no coconut milk at all. It's less saucy and much drier and has more "siling labuyo"(hot chili).

Anyway this is my Bicol Express Recipe.

Ingredients:

Cooking oil
1 tablespoon Chopped garlic
1 head Chopped onions
1 head Chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoon fresh tumeric (optional)
1/4 kg pork thinly sliced
1 1/2 tb Chopped hot chili(siling Labuyo)
2-3 teaspoon of Bagoong alamang
3 cups of thick Coconut milk
1 cup coconut cream
2 c Fresh long green chillies sliced lengthwise
salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Saute garlic in hot oil. Add onions and cook until translucent.
2. Add in fresh ginger, dilao, and the sliced cooked pork. Stir continually for 5 minutes.
3. Add bagoong alamang and chopped hot chilli(siling labuyo). Stir until the pork is completely covered by the mixture.
4. Pour in coconut milk and add the sliced hot long green chili( Add according to your desired spiciness)
5. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes.
6. Add the coconut cream and simmer until the sauce thickens. Add salt if necessary.

Indeed, there's a lot of version on how to cook Bicol Express as I've observe and I believe that it depends on the taste of the person cooking the dish. You only have two options and that is to stick to the old version of cooking or enhance it according to your style and taste.

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