Mung Bean Soup (Monggo Guisado)

Filipinos are not big on pulses. By that I mean dried beans are not that prominent in Philippine gastronomy. We prefer to use legumes/beans fresh rather than dried. But one common pulse dish that is found all over the country is Monggo Guisado (Mung Bean Soup). Different regions have different versions, of course, and this is mine.

Before we move further I think I need to explain what guisa/gisa/guisado is. It is the Filipino cooking style of sauteing garlic, onion, and/or tomato in oil to form the base of a lot of its dishes. I say "and/or tomato" as it is sometimes not required. Ginger, lemongrass, and chillies are also added to vary the base but most if not 100% of the time garlic and onions are present.





I couldn't help but compare this with the Subcontinent's dal/dahl/dhal. The name refers to both the pulse (dried lentils, peas or beans) and the cooked pulse dish which has very similar qualities to the monggo guisado. With that in mind I use the Indian cooking technique called chaunk or tarka (please follow the link for a detailed explanation) to differentiate my version from the rest. It's more for convenience rather than radical innovation on my part that is why I chose to do it this way.



Mung bean is tough and needs to be boiled in water before it can be used. rather than taking out another large pot to cook my soup I keep the softened mung bean in its original pot and make my Pinoy version of the tarka (sauteed garlic, onion and tomato) in a small frying pan instead. I then pour it in the same pot to simmer for a few more minutes.

I add some home made chicharon and chilli leaves as final touches to this much loved soup.

Monggo Guisado (Mung Bean Soup)

1/2 cup dried mung beans

2 cups water (to soften the beans)

Chicken stock

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 onion chopped

1 tomato chopped

1/2 cup minced meat (chicken or pork) or prawns

Chilli leaves (or some spinach)

Chicharon (pork crackling)

A bit of oil for sauteing

Fish sauce or sea salt to taste

1. Begin by boiling the mung beans in water until they're soft. Add more water as needed.

2. Once you're happy with the softness of the beans add just enough chicken stock to the soup consistency you prefer. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer while you prepare your tarka.

3. If you're using meat brown it in some oil then set aside.

4. Otherwise, start preparing your Pinoy tarka by heating up a bit of oil in a small pan. saute the garlic until golden brown.

5. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent.

6. Add the tomatoes and cook until virtually all the moisture has disappeared.

7. Add the pre-cooked meat or the prawns and cook for another minute or so.

8. Pour the mixture in the pot of the softened mung bean. Simmer for another five minutes. Adjust the taste using fish sauce or salt.

9. Add the chilli leaves and the chicharon.

10. Serve hot with some adobo/fried fish and steamed rice.

Sopas ala Beancounter (Filipino Chicken Soup with Pasta)

Sopas literally means soup. But for the Filipino it is so much more. Sopas is chicken soup with pasta which makes it a lot heartier. On top of that milk/cream is usually added which makes it far richer than ordinary chicken soup.

I've had my share of 'bad Sopas' as a youngster if you like. It has therefore failed to endear itself to me. I did not begin to like it again until much later when I started cooking it myself (at the prompting of my dear wife). 'Bad Sopas' for me means soggy pasta and extremely milky broth. Both of which are not that difficult to correct.

I substitute 'broken spaghetti' for the more commonly used shell pasta. I find that it keeps its shape and texture better than all the others (much like Royco Chicken Noodle Soup for anyone of you old enough to remember).




And instead of adding milk/cream at the end of the cooking process I leave it out altogether. It's available on the side after the soup has been served (again, an inspiration brought on by my lovely wife who prefers hers without cream).


Sopas ala Beancounter

3 cloves garlic chopped
1 large onion chopped
12 cups chicken stock
Half a poached chicken shredded
250g spaghetti broken into approximately 1 inch sticks
1 large carrot diced finely
1/4 cabbage shredded
Fish sauce/salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
A bit of oil of sauteing

1. Heat up a bit of oil in a large pot.
2. Saute the garlic until golden brown.
3. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent.
4. Add the chicken and stir fry for about a minute.
5. Pour in all the stock and bring to a boil.
6. Adjust the taste by adding fish sauce/salt and black pepper.
7. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
8. Add the vegetables and cook to your liking.
9. Dress with some hard boiled eggs (totally optional) and serve hot with freshly baked pan de sal.

Chunky Ham & Vegetable Soup ala Beancounter

I’m a firm believer in letting the season decide what you should serve on your table. Not only are the fruits and vegetables in season at their very best they’re also at their cheapest.

Parsnips, turnips, swedes and other root vegetables are plentiful throughout the cold months in Australia. That is why it is only during winter when I cook my chunky soup.

A friend who’s tried it (thanks Carla and the rest of the Evangelistas) actually requested I blog ‘bout it. They recently moved to Sydney and therefore lost “free” access to my soup.

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Chunky Ham & Vegetable Soup ala Beancounter

1 ham hock (discard the skin, chop the meat)
250g soup mix grains (lentils, split peas and barley)
1 turnip cubed
1 parsnip cubed
1 swede cubed
1 carrot cubed
1 desiree potato cubed
1 stick celery chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
Stock
Salt to taste
A little bit of oil

1. Using a stock pot heat up a bit of oil. Sauté the onion, garlic, celery and carrot for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the ham hock meat and cook for a minute.
3. Add the soup mix grains.
4. Add the vegetables.
5. Pour in enough stock to cover the vegetables plus about an inch more. You can add more stock if you want a more soupy consistency.
6. Simmer for about an hour then check for taste. Add more salt if necessary.
7. Serve steaming hot with some crusty sourdough baguette.

Simple Wonton Noodle Soup ala Beancounter

I haven’t been feeling great lately. This was brought about by the change in season (it is winter down under) plus over indulging during the last long weekend we had. As a consequence I haven’t ventured into our kitchen for a while. It was only tonight that I had enough energy and inspiration to start cooking again.

Wonton noodle soup definitely ticks all the boxes during times like this when I’m craving something hearty and comforting (now that my appetite has returned from a few days of absence).

My version of this dish is quite simple. By that I mean I use fewer ingredients than some other recipes. When I have more time and I have them available in my pantry I might add a few more ingredients like dried mushrooms, water chestnuts, prawns etc. But I am time poor and I haven’t been to the shops lately. Also, I think, the simplicity of my recipe makes it a lot more versatile. You can have it in a soup or fried like a spring roll (I did both tonight). Putting a few fried wontons to your noodle soup adds a bit more character to the dish with its crunchy texture.


Simple Wontons ala Beancounter

500g pork mince
1 carrot finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
1 stick of celery finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 egg
Wonton wrappers

Noodle Soup
Chicken stock seasoned to your liking
Your preferred noodle
Your choice of vegetables

1. Combine all the wonton ingredients (except for the wrappers, of course).
2. Wrap the mixture using the wonton wrappers and chill for about half an hour before cooking. I’ve done three types of wrapping (please refer to one of the photos). All of them seem to keep their shape well when fried, steamed or boiled.
3. Boil some water and cook the wontons a few at a time. They’ll start rising to the top when they are ready. I prefer pre-cooking them in water rather than cooking them in the soup stock. The soup comes out much clearer.
4. You can use bought chicken stock. Just “asianise” it by adding ginger, soy sauce, pepper and a bit of oyster sauce (or whatever you fancy).
5. As for the noodles, follow what the packet says.
6. Put together the noodles, cooked wonton and some vegetables in a bowl and pour the hot soup over it.

Loofah Soup (Patola na may Miswa)

Long before loofah became a “beauty product” I’ve always know it as a vegetable. Before it was marketed as a “natural exfoliating scrub” I was consuming it as a soup with some curious noodles called miswa (Extra Thin Flour Vermicelli).

With all the rich food that came with Christmas having this soup is a welcome break. It is light and leaves you feeling quite refreshed. Loofah is a type of melon after all.

I wasn’t really planning on writing a post about this dish that is why I intentionally did not take a photo of the fresh loofah. I have already peeled and sliced my loofah before I realised that some people might actually find this interesting. I found some photos in a blog called Wandering Chopsticks.

Loofah Soup (Patola na may Miswa)

2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1 medium onion chopped
Mince meat of your choice or dried shrimps
1 fresh loofah sliced
1 bunch miswa (Extra thin flour vermicelli)
4-5 cups Water or stock
Fish sauce or sea salt
A bit of black pepper
Oil

1. If you are using dried shrimps make sure it is soaked in warm water for about an hour. If you are using meat heat up some oil in a pot and stir fry the minced meat until cooked. Set it aside.
2. Add a bit more oil in the pot if needed. Fry the garlic until golden brown.
3. Add the onions and cook until translucent.
4. Add the meat back in or the re-hydrated shrimps.
5. Add the sliced fresh loofah and stir fry.
6. Add some of the fish sauce/sea salt.
7. Add the stock/water and bring to a boil.
8. Adjust the taste.
9. Add the miswa noodles. Simmer for about five minutes.
10. Serve hot on its own or with some freshly cooked jasmine rice.