"MUNGGO GUISADO (Sautéed Mung Bean)"

I was inspired to cook "Munggo Guisado" yesterday when I saw the fresh bunch of "malunggay" at the Cerritos Farmers Market! I got so excited, so I went to the Filipno store and got some freshly cooked "chicharon" plus my other ingredients for this dish. 'Could have skipped the chicharon, but this time, I really wanted to make an authentic Munggo Guisado complete with all the ingredients that my mom and grandma used when they cooked this dish for my family when I was still young.
I used "bagoong" (shrimp paste) to season my Munggo, but you can always use "patis" (fish sauce) or even simply 'bouillon' or salt as substitute.

Spinach, "ampalaya" leaves, chilli leaves or even "kangkong" leaves are good substitute for the "malunggay" leaves.

Instead of pork, you can use dried fish or fried fish flakes, and you can also substitute the fresh shrimps I used here with "hibe" (dried salted peeled shrimps).

CHICHAY TIP: Ask your local Filipino or Asian store associate for these traditional Pinoy cooking ingredients if you find it difficult to locate in the store.

-CHICHAY

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"MUNGGO GUISADO (Sautéed Mung Bean)"

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 cup munggo (mung beans)
• 3 cups water (for boiling the munggo)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 lb. pork, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 10 pieces medium-sized shrimps, peeled and deveined·
• 2 cups water or broth
• 1 tbsp. cooked bagoong
• 1 cup malunggay leaves
• 1/2 cup chicharon
  

HOW TO:
-Boil mung beans in water until soft and easily mashed. While cooking, check
occasionally and make sure you add more water if you see the beans absorbing all of the water even before it gets soft. Set aside onced cooked.
-In a pan, heat oil. Cook pork until it turns slightly brown.

-Add garlic, onions and tomatoes. Sauté for a minute until tomatoes are wilted.
-Stir in the shrimps and cook until bright orange.
- Add in the boiled mung beans and the bagoong, stir a few times, and add water
(depending on how thick you want your soup to be).
-Bring to boil and let it simmer until thick.
-Stir in the malunggay leaves and the chicharon, cover and remove from
heat. Serve hot.