Subj : Balatong (Mung Bean Stew)
To   : All
From : Ben Collver
Date : Wed Feb 07 2024 13:23:12

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

      Title: Balatong (Mung Bean Stew)
 Categories: Filipino, Stews
      Yield: 4 Servings

    1/2 lb Bacon (250 g); finely
           -chopped
      1 lg Onion; chopped
      4 cl Garlic; minced
      1 c  Dried mung beans (250 g);
           -rinsed
 14 1/2 oz Can Diced tomatoes
      6 c  Water (1.5 l)
      2 tb Fish sauce; plus more; to
           -taste
           Salt; to taste
           Freshly ground black pepper;
           -to taste
      1 bn Fresh spinach; washed and
           -stems trimmed

  Preparaton time: 15 minutes
  Cooking time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

  Cook the bacon in a large, deep pot or Dutch oven over medium heat
  until the bacon is brown and crisp, 5-7 minutes. Using a slotted
  spoon, transfer the bacon bits to a small plate lined with a paper
  towel. Set the bacon bits aside. Pour off all but 1 tb of bacon fat
  from the pot and return to medium heat.

  Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook until the onion becomes
  soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the mung beans and stir to
  combine, cooking for 1-2 minutes more so that the mung beans absorb
  some of the oil in the pot. Pour in the tomatoes, water, and fish
  sauce, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the
  pot.

  Increase the heat to high and bring the pot to a boil. Cover the pot,
  reduce the heat to low and simmer until the mung beans are soft and
  tender, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. If the stew becomes too thick before the
  mung beans have softened, add more water as needed.

  Taste the stew and season with salt and pepper and additional fish
  sauce if desired. Stir in the spinach--depending on the size of your
  pot, you may have to add the spinach in baches. Continue to cook over
  low heat until all the spinach softens and wilts down.

  Serve the stew in individual bowls and garnish with the reserved bacon
  bits.

  Notes:
  * For a more traditional balatong, omit the bacon and saute  the onion
    and garlic in vegetable oil. Then stir in some chopped lechon kawali
    and simmer the stew as directed.
 * You can also use  shrimp stock instead of water, as well as add
   peeled and deveined raw shrimp to the stew.
 * For a thicker balatong, uncover the stew as it simmers. Allow it to
   simmer until the mung beans become tender and the stew becomes as
   thick as you would like.

  Recipe by The Adobo Road Cookbook by Marvin Gapultos, 2013

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