A Poor Pinoy's Food

The news last night said there's rice shortage in the Philippines and that the price of processed foods will increase by 20%. If only my poor countrymen start to appreciate monggo, kangkong and kalabasa (mung bean, water spinach and squash/pumpkin), and believe that processed foods are not "proper" foods, life would be much easier.

Of course, this is an oversimplification. There's a lot of factors why Filipinos, in general, believe that processed foods should be part of one's daily diet. I'm not in a position to discuss this as I am, most of the time, apathetic about issues.

So let me just share with you this poor Pinoy's food - monggo with kalabasa and spinach (okay, I'm in Saudi Arabia and I cannot get malunggay here. Spinach is also cheaper than kangkong so this version actually sounds more sophisticated than its original counterpart.)

Ingredients
1/2 cup mung bean, soaked in 1.5 cups water for at least 30 minutes.
2 cups butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes
a handful of spinach leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp finely chopped onions
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 vegetable stock cube
3-5 cups water
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
a dash or two of hing powder

Method
Cook the mung beans in 3 cups fresh water (by this I meant discarding the soaking water and use a fresh one to cook the monggo) for 20-25 minutes over low heat. Mash with a spoon or fork and set aside.

In a small saucepan, saute garlic, onions and ginger in the vegetable oil. Add a dash or two of hing powder (I read somewhere that it actually decreases the gas from the beans/lentils), mix well and add the cooked mung beans. Add the butternut squash, cover and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the squash is soft. Stir in the vegetable stock, add the spinach, mix well until the leaves are wilted. Cover. Turn off the heat and let it stand for a while before serving over steamed rice. Top it with crunchy fried onion. Should serve 2 but good only for one serving for a 5'6 Asian guy like me :-p

Cheers.