Good Friday Lunch: Ginisang Munggo (Mung Beans Stew)

Ginisang Munggo is one of my favorite vegetable dishes since childhood. Unfortunately at this time, since most of the Fam now suffers from arthritis and they said beans are a big no-no, we are no longer able to cook this as often as we like. lol! Also, my dad had now retired to the Philippines and he's my "monggo-lovers club" co-member. :)
There are actually two ways our family cooks these beans, either as stew by sauteing it with garlic and onion and simmering it with the broth or as soup by just simply boiling the beans and adding salt and pepper to season and slices of "Upo" (or winter melon, i think?). The boiled one is my dad's version, I personally opt for the stewed munggo. 
As I was growing up, I remember that we usually add "Dahon ng Sili" (bird's eye chili leaves, often available in the backyard) and slices of Ampalaya (Bitter Melon).  I remember I had a colleague in one of the previous companies I worked for who had brought Mung Beans stew for lunch in the office and she had several other vegetables in it including squash, okra and aubergines. It was the first time I saw that "version" and I liked it. I actually tried it a few times at home but was not very much well received. Everybody still likes the traditional way we cook it with ampalaya (less the dahon ng sili since it's not available here in Qatar).


Ingredients:
1 cup Mung Beans 
4 cups water (for boiling)
3 tbs cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1 ampalaya (bitter melon), sliced horizontally about 1cm thick
1/3 cup beef or pork, sliced thinly 
2 cups broth (pork or beef, under my circumstances, there's no choice but to use beef :) )


Method:
Rinse munggo beans in a casserole with water. Remove floating beans, if any and drain. Replace water and put over high heat until it boils, then lower the heat to medium and boil until beans are soft about at least 30 minutes. You'll find that the skin of the beans start to peel off, you can discard these too. Turn off the heat and set aside.
In another casserole heat oil and add the garlic. Saute for a minute and add onions. Cook until translucent then add the meat (pork or beef) and saute until browned, not fried.
In a bowl put half of the beans and mash with fork then put into the casserole together with the other half of the beans. Add the broth, salt and pepper. Adjust to desired tasted and simmer for another 30 minutes. 
Add the ampalaya in the last 10 minutes of cooking. 
Transfer into a soup bowl and serve with hot rice and any fried or grilled meat! Enjoy! 
Mung Beans