Ginisang Munggo (Mung Bean Soup)
“Ginisang Munggo is a simple yet delicious soup made with mung beans, chicken, tomatoes, celery, and malunggay leaves. A tasty, thick, hearty, and affordable meal that can satisfy a large crowd.”
Ginisang Munggo is undeniably one of the comfort foods of Filipinos. It is delicious, easy to cook, and budget-friendly. One pack (about 400 grams) can be enough to make a large batch to feed the entire family and still have enough for the next meal.
Whenever I go to the grocery store, I usually buy mung beans. So when I don’t have anything particular meal in mind, I can easily grab these mung beans.
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What is ginisang munggo
Ginisang munggo or Mung bean soup is made in a variety of ways depending on the part of the region. But the classic ingredients will be mung beans (or monggo), tomatoes, meat (or without), and green leaves.
I have used tomatoes, celery stalks, chicken meat, and malunggay leaves in this recipe. The result is super delicious.
It has a delicate, savory flavor and a supple, pleasing texture. The combination of softened munggo or Mung beans, malunggay (or moringa) leaves, tomatoes, onions, and meat makes for a delicious and substantial meal.
Ginisang munggo has a lot of health benefits, like protein, fiber, folate, and phosphorus because of the meat and all the many veggies included in one pan.
Also, it is an excellent partner for dried fish or dishes. It complements and completes the entire meal.
Ginisang Munggo with or without meat
As mentioned, different regions have their own version and depending on the availability of the ingredients.
Some use meat and pork as the popular choice. Other places use chicharon, tinapa, dilis, tofu, or seafood like shrimp. These are all delicious in their own special way.
You can also prepare ginisang munggo without meat if you’re seeking a vegetarian option. Simply leave out the thinly sliced meat from the recipe. Even without these meat additions, you may expect a great dinner.
Also, other locations integrate other vegetables such as eggplant (talong), or bitter gourd (ampalaya).
Green leaves are also use aside from malunggay such as chili leaves, ampalaya leaves, spinach, lettuce, kangkong, talbos ng kamote, bulaklak ng kalabasa and saluyot.
What is also good about ginisang munggo is its versatility to complement the rest of the ingredients. So you can just experiment with the vegetables you have available.
How to make ginisang munggo
My mother taught me to pre-soak the mung beans overnight. This will allow the beans to expand a bit so they will be easier to cook. Also, it will save you time and cooking gas (or electricity) when you do this. You need to put more water because the munggo will almost double in size.
But if you forget to do this step, it will not be an issue. You can just cook it for around 1 hour or so. You would know if they are cooked when they expand and soften, and some of the bean skin will float to the surface. You can sift them out if you want, or leave them like that. Then set it aside.
Next, in a skillet over medium heat, begin sautéing the garlic, onion, and chicken meat. Cook until the chicken meat turns white in color.
Add the celery, tomatoes, fish sauce, and ground black pepper. Allow the tomatoes to release their juices and lightly coats the chicken.
Pour enough water to cover the chicken and simmer for 10 minutes or until your meat gets tender.
Take our previously cooked munggo and put it to the pan as well. Restart stirring, then reduce the heat to low and leave the pan to simmer for about 5 minutes. Then add the malunggay leaves. Finally, taste and season with salt and ground black pepper as a finishing touch to bind everything together.
Cooking tips and substitution
- Do not skip putting in tomatoes and celery. These two, in my opinion, make a significant impact in the overall flavor of the dish. Tomatoes give flavor to the dish with their natural acidity and sweetness. Aside from being healthy, celery helps to mask the meat’s unpleasant odor and flavor.
- For added nutrition, you can add vegetables like bitter gourd or malunggay drumstick (moringa fruit).
- You can substitute malunggay leaves with chili leaves, edible tips of bitter gourd (talbos ng ampalaya), edible tips or flower/blossom of squash (talbos at bulaklak ng kalabasa), sweet potato tips (talbos ng kamote), water spinach (kangkong), spinach, lettuce or Jute leaves (dahon ng saluyot).
- You can either chopped or minced the chicken meat or substitute pork or any seafood you prefer (usually shrimp or tahong). You can also leave out the meat if you want it to be vegetarian.
- Pre-soak the mung beans to cut the cooking time and save some of your cooking gas or electricity energy.
- Look at the package’s expiration date. Cooking and softening older beans takes longer.
How to serve
Mung bean soup is wonderful on its own. It can also serve as a main dish with grilled meat or seafood or fish.
How to store leftovers
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight jar and it will be good for up to three days.
Reheat by warming in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly warmed. To loosen the consistency, add more water and adjust seasonings as needed. You can also use the microwave and heat in a 2-minute intervals until thoroughly warmed.
Enjoy and share this comfort food with family and friends and let me know what you think.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and tell me how you liked it in the comments section below; I love hearing from you! Happy tummy!
Ginisang Munggo (Mung Bean Soup)
Equipment
- deep pan and wooden spoon
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 300 grams munggo (mung beans), uncooked
- water
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 500 grams chicken breast, chopped
- 2-3 stalks celery stalks
- 3 large tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 cups malunggay/ moringa leaves
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the beans thoroughly under cold running water until the water runs clear. Drain thoroughly.
- If presoaking mung beans: In a deep pan, pour water over the beans about¾ of the pan. Let it soak for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
- In a deep pan, pour water over the beans about ¾ of the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, scraping off any foam that rises to the top
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 40 minutes to an hour (this can be less using pre-soaked beans), or until the beans have softened and the skins have burst. Add more water as needed to keep enough liquid.
- Optional: If you want a thick soup, you can mash the mung beans at this point as they are softened. Using the back of your spoon, mash the beans against the side of the pan. Do this until you reach your desired consistency.
- In a separate saucepan over medium heat, add the oil. Sauté garlic and onion until soft and fragrant.
- Add chicken and cook meat turns white in color and slightly cooked, around 3-5 minutes.
- Put-in celery, tomatoes, fish sauce and ground black pepper. Continue to cook until the tomatoes releases its juices and can be easily mash, around 3 minutes. Mix while smashing the tomatoes with the back of the spoon.
- Pour enough water to cover the chicken and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken meat gets tender.
- Add the cooked munggo and stir to incorporate. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add water if it is too thick.
- Combine the malunggay leaves and mix well. Taste and season with salt and ground black pepper as needed.
- Turnoff the heat and cover the pan for 1 to 2 minutes to cook the leaves with the remaining heat.
- Serve with rice while hot.
- Share and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not skip putting in tomatoes and celery. These two, in my opinion, make a significant impact in the overall flavor of the dish. Tomatoes give flavor to the dish with their natural acidity and sweetness. Aside from being healthy, celery helps to mask the meat’s unpleasant odor and flavor.
- For added nutrition, you can add vegetables like bitter gourd or malunggay drumstick (moringa fruit).
- You can substitute malunggay leaves with chili leaves, edible tips of bitter gourd (talbos ng ampalaya), edible tips or flower/blossom of squash (talbos at bulaklak ng kalabasa), sweet potato tips (talbos ng kamote), water spinach (kangkong), spinach, lettuce or Jute leaves (dahon ng saluyot).
- You can either chopped or minced the chicken meat or substitute pork or any seafood you prefer (usually shrimp or tahong). You can also leave out the meat if you want it to be vegetarian.
- Pre-soak the mung beans to cut the cooking time and save some of your cooking gas or electricity energy.
- Look at the package’s expiration date. Cooking and softening older beans takes longer.
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