Monggo with Gata

Mongo with gata is a hot Filipino creamy mung beans soup, perfect for a rainy day, is made by simmering mongo babo, coconut milk, onion, garlic, dried labahita, dried anchovies, tinapa flakes, chili leaves, fish sauce and pepper. This soup provides not only warmth but also kabusugan to not just your tummy, but to the whole family. The rainy season is coming once again and I’m sure everyone is already looking for soup recipes. If you’re one of them, then you’re at the right place.

Mongo with Gata Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup monggo labo
• 1 onion (sliced)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 200 ml coconut cream
• ¼ cup of dried labahita
• ¼ cup dried anchovies
• ¼ cup tinapa flakes
• A bunch of chili leaves
• Fish sauce to taste
• Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pour a lot of water into a pot then add the monggo labo. Heat this and boil for 30 minutes. Turn the heat off. Then, set aside.
2. Lightly oil a pan. Add the onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add the dried labahita, dried anchovies, and tinapa flakes, and then saute all together.
3. Add a whole ladle of the cooked mung beans. Stir gently to get all the flavors.
4. Pour the sauteed dried fish mixture into the pot of cooked mung beans. Then, add the coconut milk. Season using fish sauce and pepper.
5. Stir the mixture gently and let it cook until it thickens. Cover the pan and continue cooking.
6. Add some chili leaves and stir to cook. Turn the heat off.
7. Transfer the monggo with gata to a serving bowl. Enjoy this as a soup or have it together with some hot steaming rice. Yum!

Mongo with Gata

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day! How I wish we can simply talk to the rain and ask it to come and go when it is okay to everyone.

Summer had just ended and I can still remember how I wished for the rainy season to come since sweating is a bit annoying. And now that the rain is here, it’s cold everywhere especially the simoy ng hangin.

I am a soup person especially during the rainy season. Even with hot coffee, I need some extra soup to get that complete warmth. I have a lot of ideas for soup, and the classic ginisang munggo still places one among the stars. Unlike broth soups, the ginisang munggo is more filling to the tummy because it is mostly beans and not just hot liquid.

Almost all dish can be made more special when creamy. Since this is a savoury dish, the creaminess from the coconut milk would be perfect to complement the mild beany taste of the mung beans with a hint of fish flavors. The creaminess and the color made it more appetizing. Since I got some extra coconut milk in the pantry, then it’s mongo with gata time! I could eat three bowls of this in one sitting!

If you also have kids who likes soup than actual meals, you can serve them this dish since it is more nutritious than plain broth.

If you wanna know how to make some mongo with gata, read and follow the simple steps below. Yum!

How to Make Mongo with Gata

Making the monggo soup with gata is as easy as cooking other vegetables. Depending on how much mongo you are cooking, this dish can be done in less than 30 minutes! Best if you want to serve something special even when in a rush.

The mung beans are simply cooked by boiling. To make this step quicker, you can soak the beans for a few hours or overnight for the shells to soften. This is also where the “dead” mung beans, which are actually just shells, can be removed. You can actually skip this step, but waiting for the mung beans to soften will take some extra time.

Check the mung beans from time to time, since they absorb water really well. You might be needing to add extra water. As the mung beans are nearly softened, just add a few water depending on how soupy you like.

The next step is sauteing the aromatic base together with the dried fish. In this recipe, I used three types of fish, namely the labahita, anchovies and tinapa flakes, for a variety of flavors. When all of this is sauteed, simply combine this with the cooked mung beans. Stir them well to distribute that savoury ginisa flavor and the fish. The mung beans soup will automatically thicken once the liquid has been reduced.

The last step would be adding the coconut milk. In this recipe, I added some green chili leaves. You can also add other types of veggies like malunggay and ampalaya.

Mongo with gata is really one of my comfort foods. I eat this as a soup during the rainy season and with some rice during the summer.