Ginataang Mongo (Mung Beans in Coconut Milk)

There was a time during my childhood years when mung beans in coconut milk was part of my staple diet. Mom was assigned to work in another town. As mommy's little girl, I would always tag along on weekends and holidays. Sometimes, my vacay would fall on the time when  mung beans were in season. During those times, the caretaker of mom's office  would bring kilos of newly harvested mung beans from the farm her family owned. She would cook them once a day until our stocks last. I tell you, I had never gotten tired of it. In fact, I would always look forward to meal time as I knew there's mung bean dish on the table waiting.

For Friday night dinner last week, my sis and friends requested mung beans in coconut milk. Being the obedient personal chef, I cooked this dish and served it with fried fish and  tofu as  side dishes.

Ginataang Monggo (Mung Beans in Coconut Milk):

Ingredients:

200 g mung beans

400 mL coconut milk

one large onion chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped

thumb size ginger, sliced into threads

morning glory, washed and cut into 2 inches length ( Discard the roots and hard stems)

one medium eggplant, sliced lengthwise

salt and pepper to taste 

Procedure:

Wash the mung beans two times. Drain. 

Place in a cooking pot. Add plenty of water to cover. Boil for 30-40 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the mung beans are tender.Remove from heat. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat oil. Saute garlic, onion and ginger. ( I forgot to saute ginger with garlic and onion so I added them when the mung beans were simmering.) 

Once the onion softened, immediately add them to the boiled mung beans.

Return the mung beans to the stove. Add 200 mL coconut milk.Stir. Cook in medium heat.

When the liquid comes to a boil, add the eggplant and pour in the remaining coconut milk.Simmer for 5-6 minutes or until the eggplants are cooked.

Season with salt and pepper. Do the taste test. Adjust the seasoning if needed.

Add morning glory.

Let the morning glory sit for a minute or so before turning off the heat.

Ladle into a bowl. Serve and Enjoy!