Shiitake Mung Bean Stew aka Munggo Guisado

Mung Bean Stew or “Munggo Guisado” in Tagalog, is a popular hearty stew in the Philippines. It usually comes with fried chunks of pork.  Both TJ and I have created vegan versions of this dish (in fact, our Twitter profile pic is TJ’s version of it).

With my version, I’ve removed the animal products and added an equally savory component, Shiitake mushrooms. I chose dried ones so I could extract its sweet broth and mix it in with the rest of the flavors. Originally, I’ve posted the recipe and named it “Bad Ass Munggo”. Gosh, I looked back and saw the horrible writing and grammatical errors! The horror. Hopefully, I’ve improved now!

By the way, “Munggo Guisado” has tons of protein from the beans, tofu, and spinach. It’ll keep you full for hours-good news to those just transitioning to Veganism and often complain they get hungry right away. However, it’s not a dish for those people suffering from gout.

INGREDIENTS:

• cooking oil
• 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 medium roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 pack of mung beans (1lb)
• 2 bunches of spinach
• 1 small pack of sliced dried Shiitake mushrooms
• 1 pack extra firm tofu, cubed
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 4-6 cups of water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak beans in water for at least two hours. Remove any beans floating.
2. Boil the beans in a pot until they’re soft and mushy
3. Put the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of water and heat it in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes. Leave it in the bowl for at least 20 minutes so the mushrooms will soften and the broth comes out.
4. On a pan over high heat, fry the tofu until slightly crispy. Remove the tofu.
5. Saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the onions and tomatoes, saute until tender.
6. Add the sauteed ingredients and tofu to the pot of mung beans.
7. Add the bowl of mushrooms including the broth to the pot. Season with soy sauce. Mix well.
8. Simmer until flavors marry.
9. Serve with rice. I suggest mixing brown and white rice. You’ll get the sweet taste of the white rice and the health benefits of the brown.