The Philippino Ginisang Munggo

One of the most embarrassing (yet genuine) things about myself is the fact that, although there exist professors who could verify that I'm a trained cartographer, my actual knowledge of geography sucks. This is why I always take the extra step and double-check every week's destination before expressing any weird convictions about a WanderFood's whereabouts. And it's this research part that transforms WanderFoods in my head from a mere nutrition project to a stimulating journey for both the body and mind!

Having said that, this week we will be mind-traveling to the Philippines, to acquaint ourselves with an exceptional dish: the Ginisang Munggo!

Philippines consist of a fascinatingly huge island complex (more than 7.000), with a population growing at a faster pace than any other Asian country! And if you were wondering who first brought European attention to them, it was no other than Fernão de Magalhães, also known as Ferdinand Maggelan, who discovered them in March of 1521, to be killed a month later by a native tribe in Lapu-Lapu. Another thing that intrigued me is that the country was renamed in 1954 from the Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, in honor of Philip of Austria who later became Philip II of Spain. The country's original name before the Spanish colonization was Mai!

Although "Ginisang" means "stir-fried", the dish is technically a soup. And "Munggo" is the local name for... Mung Beans! Mung beans have acquired a variety of names in different languages. For example, the Japanese call them "ryokutō", the Arabs call them "maash", the Greeks know them as "rovitsa" and the Hindu by the name "mūṅg".

Mung beans are a very filling food, rich in protein, resistant starch and dietary fiber. This means that a small portion goes a long way to keep me full without leading to an intolerable glycemic burden. Mung beans bring an intriguing set of macro-nutrients to the table including manganese, potassium, magnesium, folate, copper, zinc and some B vitamins.

When you follow a specific nutrition plan, the first thing you are required to do is budget your macro-nutrients intake to suit your purpose. Legumes mainly consist of carbs but, compared to vegetables and nuts, contain generous amounts of protein and insoluble fiber that attracts even the most strict low-carbers. For an interesting comparison of various legumes and their macro-nutrient identity, Jason of SlowCarbFoodie has done some neat research . Mung beans offer a great balance of carbs, protein and fiber to satisfy even the hyperinsulinemia acne-prone girl! And this... is how it's made!

Preparation

• 1½ cups Mung beans
• ¼ kg of thinly sliced Pork
• 2 cups of Spinach
• 1 medium sized Tomato
• 1 medium sized Onion
• 8 pieces of Shrimp (medium)
• 2 tablespoon of Fish Sauce
• 700ml of Water
• 1 piece of Beef Cube
• ½ cup of crushed Pork Rind
• ¼ tsp of Black Pepper & 1 tbsp of Garlic

There exist several ingredients variations to the dish, like removing the shrimp and fish Sauce and transform it to a veggie and meat soup, or the opposite: taking out all the meat and stick to the fish part. But the combo is, perhaps, the best known version. Now don't worry if your Filipino is a little rusty and you can't quite get what Vanjo Merano of Panlasang Pinoy is saying: the image speaks for itself! All you need is a frying pan and some patience. If you are more of a step-by-step person when it comes to cooking, Abby has you covered.

A brief history of... ingredients: The Mung Bean!

The mung bean has been around for more than 4,500 years! It was initially domesticated in Persia (Iran), but was soon adopted by many Asian countries, like India, China and Pakistan. Archaeobotanical research at the site of Khao Sam Kaeo in southern Thailand indicates that mung beans had arrived in Thailand by at least 2200 years ago. Finds on Pemba Island indicate that during the era of Swahili trade, in the 9th or 10th century, mung beans also came to be cultivated in Africa.

Nutritional ID

This is the nutritional analysis of the dish, as extracted using SuperTracker.

So what say you? Have you ever tried out mung beans like they do in the Philippines? What variations of the dish are you aware of? What do you think of the combination of pork with shrimp? Let me know!