au.was.here.

sundays are often seafood days for us simply because i do marketing on sundays and seafood are always best cooked fresh. i'm sharing here a couple of recipes that often find it's way on our sunday lunch table. if you like spicy, Thai-inspired flavors, you will certainly love this one. it's a modified version of something i tasted at a friend's party quite some time ago. i couldn't forget how delicious it was so i tried reproducing it. this is the result. the broth is warming and yummy while the tahong meat is tasty. it's a real pleaser for spicy seafood lovers.


ingredients:

2 kilos fresh tahong (mussels)
2-3 tbsps. Lee Kum Kee black bean garlic sauce
10 or so cloves crushed garlic
about a thumb-size of ginger, sliced
2 or 3 Thai bird chilis (siling labuyo)
about 1/4 c rough chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cube chicken bouillon (Knorr cubes)
1/2 a stick of butter (about 1/4 of a block of anchor)
2 tbsp. veg. oil for sauteing
soy sauce (if needed) to taste
2-3 cups water or chicken broth
about 5 calamansi (Philippine lime or kaffir lime)

steps:
1. clean out the mussels, removing the "beard" from the meat but leaving the meat in the shell. set aside.
2. heat oil in wok. throw in sliced ginger. cook till slightly golden. add chopped garlic and also allow to turn slightly golden.
3. add black bean garlic sauce and chicken cube. then add the chili and half of the chopped basil. cook quickly. make sure the pan is not too hot because the chili heat will sting your eyes and nose.
4. quickly add the mussels and stir them around.
5. add water or broth, whichever is available to you. let the water heat up to cook the mussels. add the rest of the chopped basil.
6. lastly, add the butter. this makes the broth yummy. let simmer a short while so the butter melts and blends with the broth.
7. just before serving, squeeze in calamansi. serve hot.


here's another recipe that's oh so easy but oh so satisfying for those looking for strong flavors: Oyster Ceviche. ang sosyal no? in Tagalog, Kinilaw na Talaba... heheh...


ingredients:
10-12 FRESH oysters (talaba), shucked and removed from the shell
1 red onion, diced
2 long green chili (the sili used for sinigang), chopped into round shape
a thumb-size piece of ginger, sliced
a dash (or two) of salt and sugar to taste
1/4 c white vinegar (sometimes i add apple cider vinegar to this)
1 cup hot water

steps:
1. put the shucked oysters in colander and blanch with hot water. drain a bit and set aside.
2. in a small bowl, put in all the rest of the ingredients and add the white vinegar, stir.
3. put the blanched oysters in this mix and stir it around to blend flavors.
4. put in your serving dish and refrigerate for a short while--maybe 10 mins. serve cool.

TIP: never eat this kilawin on an empty stomach. it could get disastrous... :-D