In the Philippines, Friday is Munggo Day

Ginisang munggo is a Filipino savory mung bean soup. It is made with mung beans, garlic, tomatoes, onions, various vegetables, and fish sauce. It is cooked with pork, tinapa, or other seafood and meat. It is also commonly garnished with chicharon (Pork Crackling) or Lechon Kawali

You may be wondering why ginisang munggo is served and often served by many on a Friday, specifically.

Filipinos, back in the old days, do their market trips on weekends, especially on Sundays. If you have noticed, most markets have their “Market Day” every Sunday. and not a lot people owned fridges in the golden days... And since they do their shopping on Sundays, by Friday, the only produce that is not spoiled is dried munggo.

Some readings suggest that the tradition of cooking ginisang monggo every Friday is due to the Lenten Season. You have to sacrifice something and eating meat is one. That’s why, instead of cooking meat on Friday, Filipinos prepare ginisang munggo. When Friday comes, there is little money left from the pay check. Munggo’s really cheap so that’s the best option when you’re running low in cash.

This is one of the dishes I look for only when I know Friday is near. It looks like it's stamped and programmed in my brain that I'll just eat and cook it every Friday. By Friday you can expect the same dish as you and your neighbours. When you go to eateries, this dish is often the Menu of the day. I cook it using different ingredients depending on what I like. The ingredients can be shrimp, chicharon or lechon kawali as what I cooked today.