Sautéd Mussel (Ginisang Tahong)

Ginisang Tahong. Photos by SDeluz

In a sauté, all the ingredients are heated at once, and cooked quickly. To facilitate this, the ingredients are rapidly moved around in the pan, either by the use of a spatula, or by repeatedly jerking the pan itself (sauté literally means "jumped", a description of the motion of the ingredients as they are being cooked).

Humans have used mussels as food for thousands of years and continue to do so. About 17 species are edible, of which the most commonly eaten are Mytilus edulis, M. galloprovincialis, M. trossellus and Perna canaliculus.

Freshwater mussels nowadays are generally considered to be unpalatable, though the native peoples in North America ate them extensively. During the second World War in the United States, mussels were commonly served in diners. This was due to the unavailability of red meat related to wartime rationing.

In Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, mussels are consumed with french fries ("mosselen met friet" or "moules frites") or bread. In Belgium, mussels are often served with fresh herbs and flavorful vegetables in a stock of butter and white wine. Frites/Frieten and Belgian beer are popular accompaniments. In the Netherlands, mussels are sometimes served fried in batter or breadcrumbs, particularly at take-outfood outlets or informal settings. In France, the Éclade des Moules is a mussel bake popular along the beaches of the Bay of Biscay.

In Italy, mussels are often mixed with other sea food, or eaten with pasta.

In Spain, they are consumed mostly steam cooked, sometimes boiling white wine, onion and herbs, and served with the remaining water and some lemon. It's also common eat them as "tigres", a sort of croquette using the mussel meat, shrimps and other pieces of fish in a thick bechamel, breaded and fried in the clean mussel shell. They are used in other sort of dishes, as rices or soups, or commonly eaten canned in a pickling brine made of oil, vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaves and paprika.

In Turkey, mussels are either covered with flour and fried on shishs ('midye tava'), or filled with rice and served cold ('midye dolma') and are usually consumed with alcohol (mostly with raki or beer).

They are used in Ireland boiled and seasoned with vinegar, with the "bray" or boiling water as a supplementary hot drink.

In Cantonese cuisine, mussels are cooked in a broth of garlic and fermented black bean. In New Zealand, they are served in a chili or garlic-based vinaigrette, processed into fritters and fried, or used as the base for a chowder. In India, mussels are popular in Kerala, Maharashtra,Bhatkal, and Goa. They are either prepared with drumsticks, breadfruit or other vegetables, or filled with rice and coconut paste with spices and served hot. Fried mussels ('Kadukka' in Malayalam) of north Kerala are a spicy, favored delicacy.

Ingredients:

1 k cleaned mussel

butter

4 gloves of garlic (chopped)

salt and pepper

Procedure:

1. Wash the mussel and drain. Set aside.

2. Heat a pot deep enough to accommodate all mussels. Put butter.

3. Sauté garlic and add mussels. Cover for 3 minutes.

4. Thoroughly mix with spatula making sure all shells are open. 

5. Serve with lemon wedges.

Tip: If you bought frozen mussels shelved in half, it is done when flesh is reddish pink. Do not overcook or it will be rubbery.