Pork Hock and Mung Beans with Vermicelli (Ginisang Monggo with Pata at Sotanghon)
Pork Hock and Mung Beans with Vermicelli is a delicious Filipino dish wherein pork hocks (pata) are cooked with mung beans (monggo) and glass noodles (sotanghon). While it’s good enough to be enjoyed on its own, it is still best enjoyed with rice.
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When it comes to Ginisang Monggo, the typical recipe includes pork bits sautéed with mung beans, malunggay, and alugbati (Malabar spinach). But Pork Hock and Mung Beans with Vermicelli will take your monggo dish to the next level. It is a complete meal, packed with protein and carbohydrates to keep you full and satisfied. Let’s get started!
How to Cook Pork Hock and Mung Beans with Vermicelli
- First, prepare the pork hocks (pork pata) by boiling it in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes. This initial boil helps to remove impurities. After boiling, drain the water and wash the pork thoroughly to ensure it’s clean. Set it aside for later use.
- Heat oil in a cooking pot and sauté the chopped garlic, onion, and tomatoes. Once the onion and tomato have softened, add the mung beans to the pot. Sauté for about 30 seconds to coat the beans with the aromatic flavors.
- Pour 4 cups of water into the pot and add the hocks back in. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and simmer for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the pork is tender. Stir occasionally every 10 minutes and add more water if necessary to keep the ingredients submerged.
- Add the vermicelli (sotanghon noodles) to the pot and stir. Continue cooking in low heat for 3 to 5 minutes until the mung beans are soft and creamy and the sotanghon noodles are almost translucent.
- Season with beef powder, fish sauce, and ground black pepper, then stir to combine. Make sure to submerge the sotanghon noodles while stirring.
- Finally, add the baby spinach to the pot, turn off the heat, and cover for 1 minute. This allows the spinach to wilt gently. Stir the spinach into the dish until well mixed. Serve!
Tips & Tricks
- Serve immediately after cooking. The noodles tend to absorb water over time. If left to cool, the broth will be absorbed, leaving you with lesser soup.
- When using a pressure cooker, you can tenderize pork pata and monggo separately. For monggo, cook for 15-20 minutes, and for pork pata, cook for 30-35 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook the monggo in the pot while the pork pata is tenderizing in the pressure cooker. The choice is yours! But for this recipe, I prefer slow cooking them for 50-60 minutes, as this slow simmer ensures the pork flavors seep into every monggo bean!
Why Friday is Considered “Monggo Day”
In the Philippines, Fridays are often associated with eating “balatong,” another term for monggo. Want to know why? Historically, before refrigerators were common, people would buy fresh food on weekends, and by Friday, they would have limited fresh ingredients left. Mung beans (monggo) were a staple that didn’t spoil easily, making them a practical choice for Friday meals. Additionally, the Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays, especially during Lent, led to the popularity of monggo dishes, which are often paired with fish. This practice has become a part of Filipino culture and tradition, making monggo a common dish on Fridays!
Looking for Other Mung Bean Recipes?
- Spicy Monggo with Tinapa – Do you want a kick of spice in your meal? Try this spicy monggo dish, and I’m sure the fried tinapa is a great addition to this complete meal!
- Monggo Pinakbet – Yes, you heard it right! Medley of vegetables (pinakbet) and its salty nature with monggo beans. Try it now!
- Pork Monggo with Kangkong – Kangkong is water spinach (another spinach too), but its loose leaves have a totally different take in this monggo recipe.
Is Monggo Good for Pets
The complete Pork Pata in Monggo with Sotanghon dish has onions and seasonings, which can be toxic to dogs. While monggo beans themselves are generally safe for dogs, the seasonings make them less suitable. The fatty nature of pork pata can also be too heavy for pets and cause digestive issues. For cats, the sodium content is safe for people but not for them. Even in small amounts, it’s always best to stick to pet-friendly foods and consult with a veterinarian before introducing any new foods to your pets’ diet.
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Pork Pata in Monggo with Sotanghon
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. pork hocks cleaned
- 1 ½ cups mung beans washed
- 1 ounce sotanghon
- 2 teaspoons beef powder
- 1 onion chopped
- 5 garlic chopped
- 3 tomatoes diced
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 8 cups water
- Fish sauce and ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
Instructions
- Boil the pork hock in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes. Drain the water and then wash the pork to ensure that it is clean. Set aside.3 lbs. pork hocks, 8 cups water
- Heat oil in a cooking pot. Saute garlic, onion and tomatoes.1 onion, 5 garlic, 3 tablespoons cooking oil, 3 tomatoes
- Once the onion and tomato soften, add the mung beans. Sauté for 30 seconds.1 ½ cups mung beans
- Pour 4 cups of water into the pot. Add the pork hock. Let boil. Cover and simmer for 50 to 60 minutes or until the pork tenderizes. Occasionally stir every 10 minutes and add more water as necessary.8 cups water, 3 lbs. pork hocks
- Add the sotanghon noodles. Stir. Continue cooking in low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. The mung beans should be soft and somewhat creamy at this point.1 ounce sotanghon
- Add the beef powder and then season with fish sauce and ground black pepper. Stir.2 teaspoons beef powder, Fish sauce and ground black pepper to taste
- Add the spinach. Turn off the heat and then cover the pot for 1 minute.2 cups baby spinach
- Gently stir until the spinach mixes with the other ingredients in the pot.
- Serve hot with rice.
- Share and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Information
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