6 Comfort Vegetable Recipes That The Family Will Love

A lot of comfort foods that families enjoy are actually vegetable recipes that have been tried and tested over the years.

Although Filipino home cooking (or lutong bahay) is known mostly for its meat recipes, the cuisine also has a selection of vegetable recipes that have been comforting families for years. Whether it’s on a rainy day and we’re looking for that warm bowl of Ginisang Monggo or the acidic bite from Ensaladang Mangga whenever we eat it fried, it’s these vegetable recipes that tie together the family meal.

1. Ginisang Monggo

Ginisang Monggo may not look appealing at first sight but, it has been a comfort vegetable recipe for many. Some add chicharon for that extra crunch or toasted alamang or danggit for the salty contrast to the savory bean stew.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Munggo (Monggo)
• 1/2 head of garlic
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 medium-sized tomato
• Meat of choice (most people like using thinly sliced pork)
• Malunggay
• 1 1/2 teaspoon patis
• salt
• pepper

Boil the munggo (monggo) for 35 to 50 minutes first or until soft. While that’s cooking, process the garlic, red onion, tomato, and meat. Mince the garlic, dice the onion, slice the tomato thinly, and then cube the meat. While the recipe calls for pork, those who want a fish option can use canned tuna but drain the water and oil before sauteeing it with calamansi, salt, and pepper to remove the fishy flavor.

For an extra meaty flavor, add half a cube of beef bouillon. Once sauteed, simmer the meat using the water from the monggo. Do so for 5 to 10 minutes before adding the beans. Stir and simmer for the next 10 minutes and add Malunggay. Some recipes call for Spinach but Malunggay adds more nutrients and is a lot easier to find.

2. Adobong Kangkong

Adobong Kangkong is a simple comfort vegetable recipe that has made itself a known partner to fried fish. It’s easy to make and the ingredients are cheap!

Ingredients

• 1 bundle of Kangkong
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 1/4 cup of vinegar
• 1/8 cup of water
• 1/2 head garlic
• 1/2 red onion

Mince the garlic and the onion before sauteeing it. Once the onion turns white, toss in the water, soy sauce, and vinegar in that particular order. Some people like to add half a teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. To thicken, add a teaspoon of cornstarch to a sauce plate of water and mix it before putting it into the mixture. We call this a slurry — which is a common technique in making glazes even for chicken.

Once the sauce is steaming, add the Kangkong and toss it. Some people like cutting Kangkong into bite-sized pieces so that the family has an easier time eating it.

Feel free to garnish with fried fish skin or chicharon.

3. Ensaladang Mangga’t Kamatis

For kids who like sour food, Ensaladang Mangga’t Kamatis is a vegetable recipe that they’ll find comfort in. Some of us even recall our childhoods when we eat this. Walking along the street and finding the vendor who sells green mangga’t bagoong and then buying one to eat while talking with friends — those were the days!

Ingredients

• 3 green mangoes
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 medium onions
• 1 tabespoon of bagoong
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar

Slice the green mangoes, tomatoes, and onions thinly. Set aside then mix the bagoong, black pepper, and vinegar. Toss them all together and you have the perfect side for fried meats.

4. Tortang Talong

Eggplant has been a favored vegetable in Filipino cuisine and Tortang Talong is one of those recipes that always has a place on the dining table. Even with fancy stews and soups, there’s just that heartwarming appeal that Tortang Talong has when eaten either with a mix of bagoong and vinegar or with banana ketchup.

Ingredients

• Eggplants
• Eggs
• Onion
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper

Depending on how many people are eating, we usually do 1 eggplant to 1 egg if the eggs are big. But if they’re medium then, it’s okay to go 1:2 for eggs. For the eggplant, grill them on the stove directly. Or you can buy a baking rack and place it on top of the stove so it’s easier to pick up the fallen eggplant skin later. For the eggs, beat them with some salt and pepper. Mince some onion and garlic. By then, the eggplant should be done. Once the skin of the eggplant is black or it’s soft, run them under cold water to make it easier to peel.

Once peeled, flatten the eggplant and dip it in the egg before putting it on a hot and slightly oiled pan. You can then add the onion and garlic so it sticks. Once the egg is solid, flip it over to cook the other side and it’s done.

5. Tomato Soup with Cheese Sandwich

Tomato soup is actually a comfort “vegetable” (we know tomatoes are fruits!) recipe for those in Britain. Rich in Vitamin C, E, and antioxidants, and bright red, it’s one of the few soups kids might eat because it doesn’t look like a typical “vegetable” soup.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes
• Red Bell peppers
• Onion
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Bouillon cube

If you have an oven, you can toss the tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion, and garlic, onto a pan with foil. Add some oil, salt, and pepper on top of them and roast for 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. While roasting, you can make the cheese sandwich with their favorite slice of cheese and bread. Toast it on a pan once the timer is at 10 minutes.

Once the veggies are cooked, peel off the burnt skin, if any, before placing it in the blender. Blend it all together before putting it in a pot. Add a cup of water before bringing it to a boil. Stir it so it doesn’t burn before mixing a soup cube inside. We suggest chicken cubes since their flavor is mild enough for soup-making!

6. Sinigang

Filipinos have different ways of making sinigang: watermelon, kamias, sampaloc, calamansi, and others. But Sinigang always warms hearts with its mild sour flavor and rich vegetable broth. Some people like putting meat in this vegetable recipe but others can have it as a plant-based soup.

Ingredients

• Souring agent – Some people use tomatoes while others use sampaloc. But for those who really want it sour use kamias or what some call, “Bilimbi.”
• Onions
• Black Pepper Corns
• Okra
• Eggplant
• Gabi (optional)
• Kangkong
• Sitaw (string beans)
• Siling Haba (the long green chili) (optional)
• 1/4 cup fish sauce

The beauty of sinigang is that it’s a dish that has little to no fancy methods when it comes to preparation unless there’s meat involved. It’s just a matter of the order of vegetables placed. Once the water is boiling, place these in the pot:

• 1st Batch: Souring Agent (it can be the fruit itself or its juices), tomato wedges, onion wedges, and black pepper corns. Cook for 8 minutes.
• 2nd Batch: Sitaw, Siling Haba, Eggplant, Okra, Gabi. Gabi takes some time and is known to thicken the soup. You can skip it if you want a thin, clear soup. Chili is also optional if you’re not in the mood for a spicy flavor. Usually, the meat goes with this batch.
• 3rd Batch: Kangkong. Nobody likes wilted kangkong in their soup!

Some people have made Sinigang sa Miso and usually serve it with a fish head. Usually, it’s a Maya-Maya.

These vegetable recipes always have a spot on our table (and in our hearts)!

There are other vegetable recipes out there but they sometimes have an acquired taste. Especially when introducing vegetables to kids, they don’t want to taste the earthy and bitter aftertaste of leafy vegetables because their butter tastebuds haven’t fully developed yet. But that doesn’t mean we can’t start them early. These comfort vegetable recipes turn those green leafy goodies into what we’d like to call a “hug on a plate (or bowl).”

More vegetable recipes?

10 Vegetables That Are Good Rice Substitutes
6 Easy Recipes To Get Kids To Eat Vegetables
Get your kids to eat vegetables: the no-tears guide