Ginataang Monggo with Tofu and Malunggay

By: Vanjo Merano Leave a Comment Published: 3/2/22

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When it comes to Filipino food, there are not many limits as to the kind of ingredients you can add. After all, our cooks boast a great deal of knowledge in cooking with vegetables and various spices. But a component we can almost always go back to, and cook quite perfectly, is monggo or mung beans. This legume contains a great amount of protein, and it’s truly delicious when you incorporate the right ingredients. I can tell you now that it goes amazingly with a smooth, coconut flavor— hence, the delicious Ginataang Monggo with Tofu and Malunggay!

Ginataang Monggo with Tofu and Malunggay

You might have heard of other variations of this dish. From pork to dried fish, you can really blend this with a lot of different ingredients. But if you haven’t tried it with some subtly savory fried tofu, and of course, the ever nutritious malunggay leaves, I highly suggest you do.

This makes for an even healthier alternative to the classic recipe. The addition of tofu gives us so many vitamins and minerals essential for taking care of our body. This gluten-free ingredient is rich in iron, and has fiber and magnesium. And of course, it’s a pretty great way of having plenty of protein without the saturated fat you get from meat.

Come and try cooking up some filling and healthy Ginataang Monggo with Tofu and Malunggay! This simple, and absolutely nutrient-rich dish takes only a few steps, and won’t be too hard on the budget either. The ingredients are quite accessible and affordable. Let’s head to the kitchen!

How to make Ginataang Monggo with Tofu and Malunggay:

Preparing and cooking the vegetables:

Begin by getting 5 cloves of garlic that you’ve crushed, as well as 1 onion you’ve chopped, and 1 tomato you’ve diced. If you’d prefer your Ginataang Monggo without the tomato, you could also go without them. Now sauté all of these together in your pot.

Afterwards, you should add 8 ounces of mung beans or what we also call monggo into the mix. Also sauté these, and keep that up for 2 minutes. Once you’re done with that, it would be time to pour your 6 cups of water in the pot. Keep the heat on so that we can wait for it to boil. Then also incorporate 1 Knorr Pork Cube. This provides all that nice savor we would love in our dish. Now you should also let this boil.

Ginataang Monggo with Tofu and Malunggay Recipe

Keep the heat on so we can cook the ingredients together. Your sign to stop would be once the mung beans have gotten sufficiently mushy. As you are cooking, the dish may also get more dry so just pour more water as needed.

Mixing in some more seasonings, and the last few ingredients:

Now it is time for us to add some of that beautiful creaminess that makes Ginataan recipes just so irresistible. Place 40 grams of Knorr Ginataang Gulay Mix in a container, and mix this with 1 ½ cups of water. Make sure to mix it thoroughly enough that you dilute it, and then go ahead and pour this mixture into the pot.

And now we can also put our 8 ounces of diced fried tofu! This gives our meal some more texture, and it goes nicely with our seasonings. Cook this all together for 2 minutes. Then also integrate 1 cup of malunggay leaves. For our last step, all you have to do is sprinkle in some ground black pepper, as well as salt. Feel free to add as much as you would prefer.

Then place everything in your pot on a serving plate. Voila! You have a healthy, delicious dish that is perfect to serve for the family and friends. And if you found this recipe as enjoyable as I did, you might also be wondering about similar dishes. No worries because I already have some in mind!

Recipes similar to Ginataang Monggo with Tofu and Malunggay:

Pork Monggo

This classic dish is surely one you shouldn’t miss out on. Not only is Pork Monggo healthy, tasty and meaty but it deals with some simple steps! And this would be especially true if you’ve had a hand at making our main recipe listed above. The cooking process is quite similar so this would seem like a very familiar journey. And other than hero ingredients like our slices of flavorful pork, and of course, mung beans, you can also look forward to the crunch brought by some crumbled chicharon. Now doesn’t that sound like a perfect recipe for your next trip to the kitchen?

Shrimp Monggo with Lechon Kawali

Now here’s a recipe that makes something unique and distinctly yummy with our monggo component. Shrimp Monggo with Lechon Kawali sounds just about as good as you might imagine it to be. Rich, crispy and gloriously savory, this combination of a dish just brings about the most complementary flavors. Our juicy lechon is made even more delicious and tasty beside the Shrimp Monggo dish.

Any thoughts on this Ginasaang Monggo with Tofu and Malunggay recipe? And what else would you like to see me introduce in terms of recipes and ingredients? Don’t be afraid to list them in the comments below!

Vanjo Merano

Vanjo Merano is the creator of PanlasangPinoy.com. His goal is to introduce Filipino Food and Filipino Cuisine to the rest of the world. This blog was the first step that he took.