Mussels: From Rags to Riches

Saturday, 23 April 2011 11:10

Written by SOL VANZI

Buffets are not complete without mussels in many forms: wine-steamed, scattered over Paella, minced in seafood pasta, and the favorite of many: baked on the half-shell under a blanket of butter, cheese, garlic and crumbs. Like Cinderella, the “tahong” has really come a long way up the social ladder from its very humble beginnings. In almost all coastal towns in the Philippines, mussels are considered “pagkain ng mahirap” and eaten only by those who cannot afford meat and “good” fish.

In the 1950s, there was so much shellfish to be gathered free for nothing from the mangrove-lined Zapote River and the clean sands of Manila Bay that they had little or no commercial value to the locals as no one but tourists would buy them. The same situation exists to this day in many fishing villages all over the Philippines, a scenario that is slowly changing with the coming of foreigners and city folk to hitherto unheard of beaches as Anda in Bohol, Bantayan Island, Surigao, Ilocos Norte and Aurora.

Here’s how to prepare mussels for cooking: they should be scrubbed well individually in fresh water, and the beards snipped off with scissors or a pair of pliers. Do this immediately before cooking, to keep them alive until they hit the pot.

A few easy ways to prepare classy mussel dishes:

Baked tahong – Steam mussels briefly to open, discard half shell, trim any remaining beard from the flesh on the other shell. Top the mussels with a mixture of breadcrumbs, minced garlic, minced parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil (or butter) and grated cheese. Arrange on a shallow tray, sprinkle with paprika and bake in a medium oven for 10-13 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Mussels in white wine – Lightly sauté minced garlic and onions in butter or olive oil, add ½ cup of dry white wine, season with coarse black pepper and simmer. Add the mussels and cover tightly, shaking the covered pot several times to distribute heat evenly. Do not overcook. Serve immediately once the shells open, sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley and a pat of butter. Good with French bread to sop up the juices.

Mussels tinola – Brown smashed garlic and sliced onions in vegetable oil, add julliened fresh ginger and water (a lot if to be served as soup, very little if served as ulam) and boil. Add sliced green papaya or sayote, and simmer until the veggies are almost tender. Mix in the cleaned mussels, cover and simmer until mussels open. Season to taste with ground black pepper and salt or patis. Top with chili or malunggay leaves, cover and turn off the heat. - Article courtesy of Manila Bulletin