Sauteed Mongo Beans with Shrimp

Good day y'all.  Went to the Farmer's market at Third and Fairfax today.  Ate an early lunch of panini and salad from The French Crepe Factory.  The panini had sliced mozzarella, prosciutto, sliced tomatoes, and basil in it.  It was surprisingly good.  The meal came with a garden salad that had a mustard dressing.  The salad was okay but nothing spectacular.

The Farmer's market, being an LA landmark is always crowded with tourists and can get pretty noisy around lunch time.  The alleys and passageways are narrow and  usually congested with foot traffic.  Despite all that, I still like to go there because of Monsieur Marcel as well as La Surla Table and World Market.  I try to go early in the morning though before the lunch and tourist crowds arrive since trying to find parking can be a huge pain in the butt.



As  usual, my trip to the farmer's market isn't complete if I do not go to the usual stops.  Today, I stopped at Monsieur Marcel and picked-up some cold cuts and cheese (Havarti with dill, french ham, and oven-roasted turkey breast).  Although I can find these at the regular store, I prefer getting them from Marcel because the quality is better.  I also stopped by at La Surla and World market but didn't find anything that I liked.

From the farmer's market, I made a quick stop at home to drop off the cold cuts and the made my way to Glendale where I met with my friend.  We went to Glendale galleria and shopped a bit.  Finally, I was able to buy the bamboo matcha scoop/spoon that I wanted.  Hooray for that!!!



By the time I got home, I was starving again.  A quick inventory for ingredients yielded a bag of mung beans, shrimps, a bag of fresh spinach, tomatoes, and onions - things I needed to make sauteed munggo beans.  This dish is a childhood favorite which my mom used to cook for us.  I think I learned making this dish while watching/observing her cook the dish.

This is a simple, no-frill dish which can be prepared easily.  This is a dish which can probably be found in almost every places in the Philippines though there might be slight variation in the ingredients used or preparation.  Some people add sinigang mix to make it sour.  We usually use a different green vegetable but since it is not readily available here in the States, spinach is acceptable.



Cooking mung beans may take a long time so prepare the dish well in advance so that it will be ready when meal time  comes.  You boil the beans until it becomes soft, mushy, and liquid thickens.  If the water has evaporated before the beans softens, you can add more.  Also make sure that you stir it every few minutes as the bean could stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.  Aside from the fact that burnt mung beans do not taste good, it is also hard to clean a pan with burnt mung beans.



Ingredients:

1  cups of mung beans

1/2 lb shrimp (more if  you prefer), trimmed and deveined but leave the shells on

2 cups fresh spinach

1 onion, sliced

1 tomato, sliced

salt and pepper according to taste

oil

1 Place mung beans and water in a pan and simmer until soft and mushy. Set aside.

2. In another pan, add oil then sauteed onion and tomato until onion is translucent and fragrant

3. Add shrimp and lightly saute until it turns slightly orange.

4. add softened mung beans to the pot and cook until it boils and slightly thickens.  NOTE: add more water as needed

5. When soup thickens slightly, add spinach and cook for a minute or two.

6. Season with salt and pepper then remove from heat.

7. Serve warm.

Sauteed Pork with Corn and Peas

Ughhh... I woke up with pain on my right shoulder this morning which means my old injury is acting up again. It is strange though because the weather is neither cold nor is it raining which are two of the reasons to cause my old injury to act up. This time though it seem really bad because I cannot move my neck towards any side of my shoulder. Arghh! I am no stranger to pain as I have had chronic pain for several years now as a result of work related injuries which I have undergone surgery for but I really hate it when my old injuries act up because it is usually worse than the last one. I had to take pain medicine for the pain which is not really a narcotic but it usually puts me to sleep. The problem is that it could not even make me go to sleep as the pain shoots up every single time I move in bed. I ended up sleeping on the floor which puts some pressure on the back thus keeping the pain level lower.

I was hungry though when I woke up this morning so I had to cook something before I went back to sleep again. it was a good thing that I ad ground pork defrosted in the refrigerator so I quickly sauteed it and added frozen peas and corn then season it some soy sauce, freshly ground pepper, and salt. The result was really good which made even tastier with a few drops of knorr liquid seasoning (commonly sold in Filipino stores). Here is the recipe of the dish I made today...

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork (or ground beef, if you like)
3/4 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup frozen corn
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp soy sauce (you may use less if you prefer)
2 Tbsp oil for sauteing
Knorr liquid seasoning (optional)


1. Heat pan over medium heat then add oil and heat.
2. Add shallot and garlic and saute until fragrant and translucent.
3. Add ground pork and saute. Make sure you break up large piece.
4. Cook until brown and cooked well. Note: I did not add any water as the pork will produce its own liquid when sauteed which is usually enough to make it tender but feel free to dd water if it is not tender enough.
5. Cook until all of the liquid has been absorbed then add frozen peas and corn.
6. Cook until peas and corn has been heated through and defrosted then add soy sauce.
7. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
8. Continue to saute until meat, peas, and corn is cooked well ( about 5 to 10 minutes.
9. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving platter. Serve warm.
10. Optional: may serve with knorr liquid seasoning by sprinkling a few drops according to taste.

Sauteed swiss Chard

This is a nice accompaniment to any main dish which is ot only delicious but also healthy. Swiss chard, in my opinion, taste best when it is simple and not piled up with a lot of seasonings. I just simply sautee it with onions and garlic then season with salt and pepper. Very straightforward yet packs some really yummy punch.

Swiss chard is a leafy vegetable that are cultivated for its leaves which are consumed either raw (young leaves) or cooked (mature leaves and stalks). When eaten raw, it can have a slightly bitter taste to it but that mellows down once it is cooked. It is known to be high in Vitamins A, C, and K. To me, sauteed swiss chard's taste is almost the same as sauteed bok choy but a little tastier. I served this sautedd swiss chard as a bed for my walnut crusted tuna. Together they both tasted amazing.


Ingredients:

1 bunch of swiss chard, washed thoroughly
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 small onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely


1. Slice stalk from the leafy portion of the chard. Trim the stalks of the chard, discard any hard portions then slice into 1 inch sizes. Take a bunch of the leafy portion, roll into a log-like shape and cut into 1 inch strips. Set aside. NOTE: Make sure that you keep the stalk separated from the leaves because their cooking time varies.
2. Heat pan over nedium heat and add oil.
3. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant and translucent
4. Add chard stalks and saute for about 5-6 minutes. NOTE: do not add water, it will produce its own juice while you are sauteeing it
5. When stalks are slightly tender, add the leafy portion and mix a little bit. Lower the heat to medium low and cover pan. Cook until leaves are tender; mixing and stirring occassionally during the cooking process.
6. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
7. Remove from heat and transfer to serving platter or plates.

Ginisang Ampalaya (Sauteed Bitter Melon)

Ampalaya or Bitter melon is a vien that is widely cultivated in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbeans for its edible fruit. There are several different varieties that differ in shape, size, and degree of bitterness.It is usually consumed when it is unripe and green in color. As the fruit ripen, its bitterness intesifies which renders it inedible. The ripe fruit also becomes tougher and yellow in color. Unripened fruit has white pith shich neds to be removed before cooking In the Philippines, ampalaya is often sauteed with pork and eggs or as an ingredient in another Filipino dish, Pinakbet.

Ampalaya is often valued for its medicinal uses and have been widely used as an herbal medicine in the Philippines, China, and Japan. It is thought to be good remedy for conditions such as intestinal parasites, malaria, viral infection, diabetes,fever, burns, scabies, and colic. It has been endorsed by the Philippine department of health as an herbal alternative to cure the aforementioned illnesses. As part of the movement to promote its use, several products that uses ampalaya as a base have come out including tea, bread, and pill supplements. Don't ask me how effective they are because I honestly have no clue nor have I tried them :)

Ampalaya is not a fruit for everyone as it an acquired taste. If you wantto cut down on its bitterness, you can sprinkle about 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt on ampalaya after it has been sliced thinly. Let it stand for a few minutesor until you begin to see it sweat (becomes watery). You can squeeze the fluid out before sauteeing. As for e, I love the bitter and distict taste that ampalaya has so I skip this method. I used to hate eating this when I was grouwing up but once I lived on my own, I began to crave for this dish every once in a while. I guess I do miss home and my mom's home cooking more that I care to admit sometimes...hehehe.


Ingreddient:

2 bitter melon, pith and seeds removed then sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 tomato, cut into small cubes
2 cloved garlic, chopped finely
1/2 lb pork, cubed
2 eggs, beaten slightly
salt and pepper to taste
oil



1. Heat pan over medium. Add garlic and onions and saute until translucent.
2. Add tomato and continue cooking until soft.
3. Add pork and saute until all the liquid has evaporated and pork has turned brown.
4. Add Add about 1 cup of water and let it boil until pork is tender. Add water as needed until pork is cooked.
5. Continue to simmer until almost all of the fluids has evaporated
6. Add bitter melon. You can add about 1/4 cup of water but I generally dont since the bitter melon will sweat out some liquid. Cook until alost all of the fluid has evaporated.
7. Add beaten egg and cook until it is done. Remove from heat and transfer into serving platter.