Today I cooked adobo and ginisang munggo (sauteed mung beans). I ate half of the adobo and a third of the ginisang munggo, and about 4 cups of rice. Of course this does not reflect that what I have cooked was delicious -- I might have just been really hungry... there was no lunch.
Adobo is easy enough to cook. Just add everything in: the pork, chopped shallots, crushed garlic, dried bay laurel leaves, ground pepper, two ladles of used cooking oil (hah!), about two spoons of vinegar, two ladles of soy sauce, and half cup of water. Cook in medium heat and leave it behind. Don't be afraid that it'll be overcooked. The best adobos are overcooked and two days old. I'm going to write why this blog is called "Two-Day Old Adobo" soon.
I knew my adobo is cooked when I opened the lid and the half cup of water I put in has evaporated and what's left is this thick oil and soy sauce sauce.
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| Pork Adobo. Picture taken using iPod touch. |
Ginisang munggo is a little bit trickier to cook. In a pan, I sauteed some shallots and garlic in used cooking oil (hah!). I then added the ground mung beans (should I have washed them first?). I then added a cup of water, two ladles of bagoong (fish paste) and a laddle of patis (fish sauce). Let it boil then simmer for a couple of minutes.
What's difficult in cooking munggo is to know when the beans are cooked. So I have to check for its consistency, stir, add water and bagoong to taste now and then. I then placed my vegetables: ampalaya (bitter melon) and slender aubergines. Again, don't worry about overcooking. Overcooking is the hallmark of Ilocano food. Besides, it's best to overcook the ampalaya to remove its bitter taste.
I added some garlic powder and salt to taste. Simmer for a few minutes (like twenty!) until the beans are soft and cooked.
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| Ginisang munggo. Picture taken using iPod touch. |
Salty adobo and ginisang munggo complements each other like the other salty food -- tuyo (dried fish). No wonder I ate a lot.
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