Mungo Guisado or Filipino Mung Bean Stew is a classic comfort dish, it’s one of my favorites. Mung beans in case you didn’t know are the beans that produce bean sprouts. That crunchy sprout commonly used in many types of Asian Cuisine.
In many Mungo Guisado recipes including the one my grandmothers used they would soak the dried mung beans, in Tagalog its called Mungo beans, in water for hours. My recipe doesn’t call for soaking the beans; skipping the soaking step in my opinion makes my recipe much easier as you don’t have to plan on making the dish hours ahead.
I love mungo guisado on cold rainy days. Eaten with freshly steamed white rice makes it a filling and comforting meal. I use bok choi, Chinese cabbage, in my recipe; but you can use any type of leafy greens such as spinach, bitter melon leaves, kale, or mustard greens.
Here’s my recipe, hope you love it as much as I do!
Ingredients:
2 Cups Dried Mung Beans – available in the Asian markets
2 Tbs. Vegetable oil
1 Large onion chopped
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Cup tomatoes diced
6+ Cups Water
2 – 3 Tbs Patis – Fish Sauce – adjust to suit your taste
1 Lb. Shrimp shelled and deveined
1 Large Bunch of Bok Choi or other leafy greens roughly chopped
Directions:
Heat oil in large pot
Sauté onions until they start to turn translucent
Add Garlic until it starts to brown
Add Tomatoes and cook until they start to soften
Add dried mungo beans
Add at least 6 cups water and stir well
Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cover pot
Cook for at least an hour or until the beans are softened to your liking – you may have to add more water if the mixture is too thick – add water 1 cup at a time until you get the desired consistency
Stir in Patis and shrimp -you can adjust amount of fish sauce to your liking or leave it at 2-3 tbs and let everyone add more later if they prefer
Cook another 8 minutes or so until shrimp is cooked, they are pink
Cook for at least an hour or until the beans are softened to your liking - you may have to add more water if the mixture is too thick - add water 1 cup at a time until you get the desired consistency
Stir in Patis and shrimp -you can adjust amount of fish sauce to your liking or leave it at 2-3 tbs and let everyone add more later if they prefer
Cook another 8 minutes or so until shrimp is cooked, they are pink
Add bok choi or leafy greens
Stir in and cook until leaves are wilted
Serve hot
I concluded years ago that if you want great salsa you only have two choices. One, find a family owned Mexican restaurant preferably one south of the border or in border zones in states like Arizona, California, and Texas. Or two, make it at home. Since I live in Hawaii I generally opt for option two as I can’t jet off to Mexico or the border states each time I’ve a yen for salsa. So I came up with my Spicy Homemade Salsa Recipe.
At our house we like our salsa chunky, tasty, and very spicy. That’s why those store bought bottles of salsa just don’t make the cut. I mean the old TV commercial was right who wants to eat salsa mass produced in like Ohio or worse yet China!
My Spicy Homemade Salsa is perfect. It uses fresh ingredients and lots of it. It’s chunky and flavored with lots of fresh cilantro, limes, and of course hot peppers. The hotter the better!
Now my Spicy Homemade Salsa is just that salsa, meaning it’s saucy. We use my Spicy Homemade Salsa as a dip, topping, or filling. Yes a filling! I love it rolled up in a fresh hot tortilla!
Here’s the recipe, you might think it’s a bit fussy. But believe me it’s worth the time! I usually mix up a batch, it makes about 3 small bowls, to serve with dinner. Any left over salsa will keep in the fridge for about 2-3 days. I’m not sure because it never lasts more than 3 days at our house, heck we’re lucky to have left overs which is generally gone by the next day!,
Try this salsa on Dion’s Steak Flautas, it makes that delicious dish my grandson Dion makes for us outstanding!
Drizzle 1 Tsp olive oil over unpeeled bulb of garlic
Grill all the vegetables until cooked - Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, and Garlic
Remove the peel from the grilled tomatoes and dice the tomato
Dice the onions and peppers and place in a bowl with the tomatoes. Be sure you add the pepper seeds in the bowl too. (for less spicy salsa remove and discard the seeds or just add the seeds of 3 peppers to the bowl and discard the rest of the seeds)
Slip garlic out of its peel and crush. Add to tomato mixture
Add cilantro and stir everything together
Squeeze lemon juice over the tomato mixture and mix well
Here’s a new hummus flavor I whipped up for the family. It goes great with the Beef Shawarma wraps I make. It’s very easy to make. You can use a food processor, but I was too lazy to take out my processor so I made it in my Ninja blender, it worked just as well.
I use sun dried tomatoes I buy in the open markets of Venice. I store them in the freezer and soak them in water for a few hours before using them. You can use the sun dried tomatoes they sell in jars at the produce section of your local supermarket. As for the roasted red pepper I just use the ones in a jar I get from the supermarket.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup roasted red peppers
1 cup chick peas – Garbanzo Beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbls. sesame tahini
1 tbls. minced garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
Juice from 1 lemon
Extra Virgin olive oil (optional)
Directions:
Place tomatoes in blender or food processor – blend until finely chopped
Add red peppers – blend until finely chopped and mixed well
Add chick peas, oil, tahini, garlic, salt – blend until it becomes a soft paste
Add lemon juice – blend until it’s absorbed
Move to serving bowl or dish. If desired drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil before serving.
Sautéed Chayote or Ginisang Sayote is a kind of vegetable and usually sauteed with garlic, onion, and tomato, you can add ground pork, beef or chicken if you want and is usually serve with hot steamed rice. This recipe is very simple and easy to prepare and to cook and this is a budget dish that every Filipino wants and is delicious too.
I remember my grandmother when I was 7 years old, she takes care of me and I remember this Sayote vegetable that she always cooked every time I cry for food. This is one of my comfort food when I was young and until now, this is always been my comfort Filipino Food.
This is my version of Ginisang Sayote (Sautéed Chayote) Filipino Recipe!Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 pcs. chayote squash, pared, seeded and sliced
1/2 lb. pork, sliced
2 pcs. tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp. fish sauce (patis)
1 pc. medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. cooking oil
½ tbsp. salt or salt to taste
¼ tsp. pepper or pepper to taste
2-3 glasses water
Directions:
Add the cooking oil in a pan over medium heat then add and cook pork until it turns light brown.
Then add the garlic, onions and tomatoes.
Sauté for 2 to 4 minutes or until tomatoes wilted.
Add the chayote slices and add the fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until well combined.
Pour in water and bring to boil, cover and lower the heat and let it simmer until chayote is tender.
Who doesn’t love fried chicken? I know we do! But let’s be honest, battered and fried chicken smothered in rich gravy is not exactly heart healthy.
In my quest to find something healthier to feed my family I decided to take an all time favorite and make it just a bit healthier. So I came up with this Chicken Fried Chicken Salad, a lighter and healthier alternative to the old classic fried chicken cutlets. It’s filling and most importantly my family loves it.
Chicken Fried Chicken Salad is crispy and light. The crunch comes from the lightly floured chicken breasts and the fresh crisp lettuce and cucumbers. It really does take a family favorite and combines it with healthy fresh veggies.
I serve it for dinner (we’re trying to eat lighter and healthier dinners), but it makes a great lunch as well. It’s a great way to get the kids, like my grandson Devon, to eat their veggies! Best of all you don’t have to spend half the day frying chicken in the summer heat!
Here’s the recipe!
Chicken Fried Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (cut horizontally in thirds to make 9 pieces)
1 Cup Flour
1 Tbs. Garlic Powder
1 Tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tsp. Cayenne Red Pepper
Oil for frying
1 Head of Romaine Lettuce (cut into chunks)
1 Cup Fresh Spinach (optional)
1 Large Cucumber (sliced into rounds)
2 Tomatoes (sliced into wedges)
Salad Dressing of choice
Directions:
Wash and cut chicken breasts into 9 thin slices, pat dry with paper towel
Mix dry ingredients together
Heat about 1/2″ of oil in frying pan
Roll chicken breasts in flour mixture
Fry chicken until both sides are golden brown and crispy (about 4 minutes each side)
Mungo Guisado or Filipino Mung Bean Stew is a classic comfort dish, it’s one of my favorites. Mung beans in case you didn’t know are the beans that produce bean sprouts. That crunchy sprout commonly used in many types of Asian Cuisine.
I concluded years ago that if you want great salsa you only have two choices. One, find a family owned Mexican restaurant preferably one south of the border or in border zones in states like Arizona, California, and Texas. Or two, make it at home. Since I live in Hawaii I generally opt for option two as I can’t jet off to Mexico or the border states each time I’ve a yen for salsa. So I came up with my Spicy Homemade Salsa Recipe.
My Spicy Homemade Salsa is perfect. It uses fresh ingredients and lots of it. It’s chunky and flavored with lots of fresh cilantro, limes, and of course hot peppers. The hotter the better!
Who doesn’t love fried chicken? I know we do! But let’s be honest, battered and fried chicken smothered in rich gravy is not exactly heart healthy.
