Mung beans simmered until soft and creamy, then sautéed with garlic, onion, tomato, and pork or shrimp, with leafy greens stirred in at the end. Hearty and homey, it is a thrifty everyday stew often eaten over rice. In many Catholic households it appears on Fridays, when meat is set aside, and crisp pork or fried fish is added on other days.
Munggo is the Filipino name for mung beans, long grown and eaten across the islands, and ginisa refers to the Spanish-derived technique of sautéing aromatics as a base. The dish is everyday home cooking rather than a regional specialty; its common appearance on Fridays is widely tied to the Catholic custom of abstaining from meat, though households cook it on any day.
Thick and comforting, the broth carrying the nutty creaminess of broken-down beans, savory pork or sweet shrimp, and the freshness of just-wilted greens. Spooned over rice, it is filling and gently rich, with garlic and tomato lending quiet depth.
Long simmering bursts the mung beans so their starch thickens the broth into a natural, creamy body without any thickener. Sautéing the garlic, onion, and tomato first builds a savory-sweet base, and the greens are added last so they wilt but keep their color and bite.
Variations
with crisp lechon kawali or chicharon on top, with shrimp or smoked fish, using spinach, malunggay, or jute leaves, and a thicker 'tira-tira' style from leftovers
On the Palate
Where Ginisang Munggo sits in the Filipino flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
7 steps · 15 min
- 140 min
Rinse the mung beans and boil in water until very soft and beginning to break apart.
Watch outBoil the mung beans until very soft and starting to burst — that bursting is what thickens the broth into a natural creamy body, no thickener needed.
- 26 min
In another pan, sauté garlic, onion, and chopped tomato until softened.
- 36 min
Add diced pork and cook until browned, or add shrimp.
- 410 min
Pour in the cooked beans with their liquid and simmer to meld.
- 53 min
Season with fish sauce and pepper, mashing some beans for body.
- 63 min
Stir in leafy greens and cook just until wilted.
Watch outStir the greens in last and cook just until wilted — a few seconds keeps them green and with bite instead of stewed grey.
- 72 min
Serve hot over rice, topped with crisp pork if desired.
