Ginisang Monggo at Chicharon (Mung Bean Soup with Pork Cracklings)

I have been craving my mom's Filipino cooking! Living so far away from her compared to when I used to come home and visit almost every other weekend back in college has been such a drastic change for me. Now that I don't have much family up here in the Bay area anymore, I've decided to learn more Filipino dishes when I am able to see my mom. I tried my hand the other week at re-creating her dish that I hope will do her version justice. So, I present to you my feeble attempt at Filipino food.

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Ginisang Monggo at Chicharon (Mung Bean Soup with Pork Cracklings)

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 1 hour 20 mins

Total time: 1 hour 25 mins

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried monggo (mung beans), washed and drained
• salt
• pepper
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 pound shrimp--cleaned
• 1-2 tablespoons fish flakes (fish seasoning) or 1 packet of Mama Sita's Ginisang Monggo seasoning
• 7 cups shrimp stalk (I boiled the shrimp shells and pork bones in some water to create a stalk before-hand. This is optional, but highly recommended.)
• 2 cups chicharon (pork cracklings with attached meat) or very crisp lechon kawali (I recommend the later, but at this time I only had chicharon. in my pantry.)
• 1 bunch fresh spinach, stems trimmed
• fish sauce to taste with your level of saltiness
• 2 medium sized bitter-melon
• 1/2 pound pork (cut into bite sized strips)

Instructions

1. In a pot over medium heat, combine mung beans (or you may pre-soak them in water the nigh before to decrease cooking time--your preference), shrimp stalk, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, skimming off froth that accumulates and any beans that float on top. Lower heat, cover and cook for about 1 hour or until beans are softened and skins have burst.
2. In another pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until tender and aromatic. Add tomatoes and cook, mashing with back of spoon, for about 3 to 5 minutes or until softened and release juice. Add fish sauce and continue to cook for about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add pork and saute until cooked. Then add the shrimp and bitter-melon.
4. Once shrimp change color, add to the cooked mung bean including liquid. Bring to a boil. Continue to cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until softened. Season with additional salt, fish sauce, fish flakes, and pepper to taste. 
5. Add spinach, turn off heat and cover pot for about 2 to 3 minutes or until spinach are just wilted. Top with pork cracklings before serving. Serve hot and over rice.

Japchae 잡채

I've been wanting to add new dishes into our repertoire of recipes and since my office recently moved closer to a Korean grocery store, I decided to try my hand at making Japchae. Japchae is a nice beginner's dish  into Korean food since it is not too complicated to make...you just have to make sure that you have all the ingredients available.

I followed this recipe and added a few more ingredients, but here it is for good measure (ha ha):

Ingredients:

• Starch noodles (“dangmyun”)
• *150 grams of beef (I used marinated pork --> see note below)
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 1 medium size carrot
• 1 medium size onion
• mushrooms (5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 7-8 green onions
• soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and  toasted sesame seeds

Makes 4 servings.

How to prepare your ingredients before stir frying:

1. Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly.
2. Slice a package of white mushrooms (2 cups’ worth).
3. Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long.
4. Cut 7 -8 green onions into 7 cm long pieces.
5. Slice one onion thinly.
6. Slice 150 grams of beef into thin strips.

Now let’s start!

1. Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 3 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
2. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
   *tip: Take one sample and taste it to see whether or not it’s cooked properly. If it feels soft, it’s finished.
3. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.
4. Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
   *tip: When you drain the hot water from the pot, don’t discard the hot water. Put it back into the pot so you can cook your spinach quickly.
5. On a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).
6. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.
7. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.
8. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.
9. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.
10. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.
11. Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.

 *Note:  For the Meat, I used pork strips marinated in gochujang (Red Pepper Paste) instead of the suggested beef and added 1 red bell pepper for more veggies. I also used my cast iron skillet to give everything a nice sear.

I hope that you enjoy making and eating Japchae as much as I did! Enjoy!