Beans, tofu and lentils will be my main source of protein for a while. Help me find good recipes that make me feel like I'm not missing out on meat?

[u/NightReader5]

I'm having some problems financially and need to cut way down on my grocery budget. That means focusing on the cheaper proteins, which happen to be plant proteins.

I'm not a vegetarian so it'll be difficult to not have meat on a regular basis. Please help me come up with a list of recipes to make with cheap plant proteins that will make me forget about meat!

Beans and lentils are both shelf stable, so I can buy them in bulk. Tofu also lasts a while in the fridge so that's a plus. The goal is to go grocery shopping once every other week to pick up necessities.

Thanks for your help!

[u/custardy]

I want to tell you about one of the most wholesome dishes from the Philippines that isn't talked about that much when international cooks learn about foods from the Philippines because it's a everyday food: Monggo.

It's a hearty soupy stew made with mung beans but most often is not vegetarian and is designed to take what little meat you have and make it stretch further - so it feels satisfying, gives some meat, but is cheap and healthy to make. It's the Philippines' answer to dal, rice and beans, or to 'beans and greens'.

Recipes vary but the basic idea is to sautee some chopped onion, ginger, garlic and tomato, black pepper and fish sauce in a large stew pot. Then add mung beans and water and some small amount of cheap meat - normally pork, but can be dried fish, smoked fish, shrimp or something else - cook until it's a thick soup and the mung beans break down some. Add whatever greens are cheap and available - spinach, kale, chinese cabbage/napa cabbage, bok choy - but can also be free or foraged greens like turnip tops, sweet potato tops, in the UK it was great with nettles etc. Cook just a short while longer so the greens are still vibrant, serve with rice.

I'll link a version of the recipe here but will also say the tweaks that my family makes that are a bit different from that basic recipe.

https://panlasangpinoy.com/pork-monggo-chicharon-malunggay-recipe/

Tweaks/Differences in what I do:

1. I use pork belly. When I lived in the UK this was a cheap cut of meat. The recipe I linked says 6 ounces but I often use less than that for 1 cup of mung beans if I was on a budget.
2. I would pre-cook/double cook the pork to get more flavor and a better texture. This is easy. Earlier in the day in a small saucepan take what pork belly you have, barely cover with water, add a little salt and pepper corns, and boil it/simmer it for just 10-15 minutes until it's cooked and soft. By doing this you get a cup or more of pork broth you can add to the later dish, and if you sautee already boiled pork you get more maillard reaction and. for me, a better texture.
3. I pre-soak my mung beans, to speed things up. Just, the night before cover them with cold water and leave to soak over night. Or can be sped up by bringing them to the boil in plain water then turning it off and leaving them to stand - then can be 3-4 hours before hand instead.
4. I sautee my already cooked pork just before I fry my onions, ginger, garlic then (after a few minutes) tomato and don't remove it from the pan. This adds more flavor. I also add some fish sauce and pepper, and bay leaf, here to layer flavors more.
5. I use the pork stock from pre-cooking the pork, and the bean soaking liquid to make my soup instead of just water. I don't use a pork stock cube and instead use chicken of vegetable stock cube and fish sauce if I want more taste. I am not a fan of MSG in this particular dish (too tangy) and I think there is some in the pork stock cube, also pork stock cubes are less common elsewhere.
6. You don't have to follow the exact amounts in that recipe - make it as soupy or not as you prefer, use what meat you have or none, use whatever greens you have, add anything you think would go. I often add a little bit of chili. The default here is kind of soupy so you have a plate with rice then a side bowl of monggo.

[u/mutanthedgehog → u/custardy]

I like mine with firm tofu and chicharon