#monggos

MONGGOS

Makes 5 servings (~10 cups)

Prep time: 60 mins. / Cook time: 60 mins. / Active Time: 30 mins.

TOTAL TIME: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 cup dried monggo (mung) beans

5 2/3 cups water

1 tbsp. canola oil

 half a large yellow onion, sliced into thin half-moons

half a head of garlic (6 cloves), minced

1 tomato, diced

1 bunch of spinach

2 tsp. salt

fish sauce, if desired

1-2 cups crispy fried onions, or chicharron

Process:

Soak the dried beans in 3 cups of water in a stock pot for 30-60 minutes. While the beans soak, prep the rest of your ingredients.

Bring the pot of beans to boil over high heat. Turn the heat down and simmer the beans until they get soft, about 30-40 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the means are done, heat up a pan of the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the onions to the pan and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes until the tomatoes are soft.

Once the beans are soft, smash them in the pot using a big spoon or a potato masher. 

Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, and the remaining water (2 and 2/3 cups) to the stock pot. Season with salt.

Bring the pot back to a boil before adding the spinach and turning off the heat. You may also add fish sauce/patis.

Serve hot over rice, and top it with crispy fried onions or chicharron.

Fun family stories related to monggos:

My godfather used to get made fun of because his said was said to be shaped like a monggo :D

My godmother as a kid would run home to report that monggos was being cooked at the site of the latest funeral or wake.

My mom’s paternal grandmother would ask, “Unsay sud-an (what’s the main course)?” When “monggos” was the response, she would retort, “Sud-an ba na (you call that a main course)?!”