Pinasosyal na Ginisang Munggo

Here in the Philippines, ginisang munggo or sauteed mung beans can usually be found on the table during Fridays. It's a tradition of lent of some sort. I'm not very familiar with it as I am not Catholic and so ginisang munggo in my house is not a humble meal but is quite an extravagant one.

Boil the mung beans until tender or a bit mushy (as I like it). This may take some time but if you're not in a hurry, you can let the beans sit in a bowl of water a few hours or overnight. Saute some garlic, onions and tomatoes in oil. Mash shrimp heads and shells in a bowl with hot water then add the shrimp essence to the pot. Add some peeled shrimps or pork if you like. I don't eat pork and so I stick to seafood. Then pour the boiled mung beans. You can also add ampalaya or bitter gourd. I then added some cut up slices of dried squid. The other time I made this I also added some danggit. I also put bagoong in my munggo guisado. Then lastly, lots of malunggay leaves.

This dish is normally eaten as an accompanying dish to fish or other fried dishes but with this version, you won't need any accompanying dishes, just lots of hot rice.