Mussels (Tahong)

I love mussels. When I went to New Zealand, I saw the biggest mussels ever. I was really awestruck with their sizes. I couldn't stopped talking about them. Not only were they really, really big, they were also meaty. Sometimes, the shells of ordinary mussels are so big, then the meat inside were very small. But New Zealand Mussels are really big and meatier. Here I am again, all agog about New Zealand mussels.

We're lucky living in Tasmania, because we're surrounded by water. Whenever we have the time, we go for a drive and collect mussels, oysters and if I'm lucky some crabs. But this time, these are bought mussels and they happened to be New Zealand mussels. And boy, did I enjoy eating them ....

Ingredients:

1 kilo mussels
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 onion, chopped finely
1 inch ginger, thinly sliced or 1 tsp minced ginger from a jar
4 – 5 tomatoes, chopped
fish sauce to taste
a bunch of spinach or pechay or silver beet

Directions:

Clean the mussels thoroughly if they are not clean yet. Remove the moustache-like sticking out.
Sauté the garlic in the oil until brown.
Add the onion and ginger.
Stir for a minute then add the chopped tomatoes.
Add the mussels. Mix thoroughly then cover it. Let it simmer for few minutes.
Season with fish sauce. Be careful with your seasoning. Mussels have a natural taste of the sea, more often than not, they are salty already. So keep tasting the sauce. Put water if there is not enough sauce, or if you want your dish soupy. Let it boil.
Put the leaves in, mix and let it boil until the leaves are tender.
Serve with rice.

Rule of thumb with mussels. When they are open before you cook them, throw them away. If they don't open when you finished cooking them, throw them away.