Ginisang Munggo (Sauteed Mung Beans with Spinach)

Ginisang Munggo or Sauteed Mung Beans with Spinach is a simple yet nice tasting Filipino vegetable dish. This is usually eaten as a main dish along with warm white rice. Some versions use fish, while there are others that make use of thin slices of pork.

I made my monggo guisado (this is what people sometimes use to refer to this dish) with dried small shrimp. It resembles “hibi”, which is a similar ingredient that I used to utilize when I was still in the Philippines. However, the latter has no head and shell, unlike this one. You can souce dried shrimp from Korean grocery stores. I got mine from there.

It is important to prepare the mung beans hour or a day before cooking. It should be soaked in water until it becomes softer, in order to make the cooking time shorter. I usually soak these overnight, but 3 hours should be enough.

There are several ways to cook ginisang munggo. I was able to share a handful in my Filipino food blog.

The Filipino way of eating munggo is either to have it only with rice, or to partner this with a fried or grilled dish, such as fried fish or grilled pork and still eat the combo with rice. This will make your experience more enjoyable.

I suggest that you also check out Adobong Kangkong. This is another easy to cook Pinoy vegetable recipe.

How to cook Ginisang Munggo:

Take a cooking pot, and pour 3 tablespoons of cooking oil inside. Then let this heat up. Now we must bring in 1 piece of red onion you’ve sliced, 4 cloves of garlic you’ve crushed, and 1 ripe tomato you’ve cubed. Go ahead and start sautéing this all together, letting the flavors mix in nicely. 

Add ½ cup of dried shrimp, and your 1 cup of mung beans or munggo. Make sure that you soaked the mung beans in 2 cups of water for a period of 3 hours beforehand. When you have all of this in the pot, you can stir it all up. And then incorporate your 2 to 3 cups of beef broth, and wait for this to boil. 

Letting the munggo soften:

You can now cover the pot, and just let this cook, setting the heat between low to medium. Just keep watch of your mixture, and you will know you’re done once the mung beans have gotten perfectly soft. After that, sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper. You can also put 1 cup of fresh spinach inside now. 

Begin stirring everything together again, and then continue cooking for just 1 minute more. Once that minute’s passed, you’ve got yourself a warm, delightful pot of Ginisang Munggo or Sautéed Mung Beans with Spinach! You can transfer everything to a container of choice. Then if you like, you can place some crushed chicharon right on top for an added element of crispiness. I would suggest having this with some rice to complete the meal. 

You might also be wondering why Filipinos love to have Ginisang Munggo. Well, aside from how filling and tasty it can be, it is also really good for you! Don’t believe me? Take a look at all the health benefits this can bring for your body.

Health benefits of Ginisang Munggo:

Mung beans

This can be a pretty divisive ingredient in terms of how some people love it, but others tend to hate it. But these affordable, somewhat sweet green beans are absolutely great for your health. Firstly, they are filled with fiber, which can keep you feeling energetic for longer, and aid in managing your bowels. These are also a fantastic source of protein. This nutrient is great in providing a lot of amino acids you will need for your body like lysine and leucine.

I also love incorporating munggo in my dishes because they have a ton of vitamins like Vitamin B1 and Vitamin B5. Such components can help make you feel less tired. They also contain magnesium, potassium, and as I mentioned, fiber. These can be helpful in preventing high blood pressure. 

Spinach

Let’s move on to an equally amazing green ingredient that can level up your diet. Habitually consuming spinach can be beneficial for your heart because the leafy vegetable has nitrates. Nitrates can ease your blood vessels, which is perfect for managing your blood flow and pressure. And as such, you are able to lessen risks of stroke and heart disease.

What else makes spinach valuable? It has chlorophyll, as well as carotenoids like lutein and beta carotene. Something these components are great for is keeping your eyes fit and healthy. We can avoid cataracts and other eye problems by keeping up our spinach intake. And you can also count on this healthy ingredient to give you some Vitamin K and magnesium. With these, you are able to maintain the strength of your bones!

Shrimp

To cap things off, we will look at some of the health benefits from one of our favorite seafood ingredients. Shrimp has antioxidants, which are essential in keeping your cells safe from damage. As such, you can have better skin. There is also research showing that some antioxidants in shrimp can protect you from sun damage. We also get some selenium from eating shrimp, which can point to benefits like cancer prevention.

Loved having this healthy, delicious Ginisang Munggo? Come and try other nutritious meals with yummy greens!

Similar recipes to try out:

Adobong Sitaw

Do you love having your fair share of snake beans or sitaw? This is a terrific recipe for you! Adobong Sitaw integrates this lovely vegetable with some of our favorite seasonings in Filipino cuisine to make for that distinct, salty and rich flavor. We have soy sauce white vinegar, sugar and more to truly make an adobo dish.

Ampalaya with Eggs

Quick, easy and absolutely nutritious, Ampalaya with Eggs is surely the way to go when you want a recipe on the go! A lot of Filipinos take this in for breakfast because it has lots of protein in eggs, and of course, it has healthy ingredients like tomatoes and bitter gourd or ampalaya. Now if you have problems with the strong, bitter taste of the last component I mentioned, this is definitely still worth a try. I list a couple of tips to make that flavor milder in this article!

Want to try more magic in the kitchen? Go ahead, and look around the website for more delicious speedy recipes!