Mussels and straw mushrooms in oyster sauce

It’s a stir-fry, basically. I half-cooked the mussels in the oven, pried them open and discarded the empty half shells. Then I stir-fried them with straw mushrooms, plenty of ginger, onions, green onions. The sauce was made with the mushroom brine, oyster sauce, sesame seed oil and tapioca starch. I think that’s a good description to dispense with the recipe… Just kidding But, seriously, this is a pretty simple recipe. A very effective way to impress dinner guests who, chances are, expect soup or a cheese-topped baked appetizer when you say tahong (mussels). Cheap too. A kilo of fresh mussels cost PhP 40.00 (about US$ 0.73). A can of straw mushrooms cost PhP 19.00. The cooked dish only cost about PhP 80.00.

In the Philippines, edible mussels refer to sea mussels. They are available cheaply all year round except when red tide makes them toxic.

Ingredients :

1 kilo of fresh mussels
1 425-g. (18 oz.) can of straw mushrooms
2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled and sliced
2 onions, halved and sliced thinly
a bunch of sibuyas na mura (green onions or onion leaves)
3 tbsps. of oyster sauce
2 tbsps. of light soy sauce
1/2 tsp. of sugar
1 tbsp. of tapioca starch
1 tsp. of sesame seed oil
1/2 tsp. of balck pepper
2 tbsps. of cooking oil

Cooking procedure :

Soak the mussels for about 8 hours. To avoid spoiling, keep it in the refrigerator. Wash and drain the mussels. Pull out the beards (they should come off easily if the mussels are soaked long enough). Place in a single layer in a large shallow cake pan. Bake in a preheated 425^oF oven for about 10-12 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool. Pry the shells open and discard the empty halves.

Drain the mushrooms and cut in halves. Reserve the brine. Cut the sibuyas na mura finely.

Heat the cooking oil in a skillet or wok. Saute the ginger and onions until limp. Add the mussels and mushrooms and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes.

Mix together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, mushroom brine, tapioca starch, sugar, pepper and sesame seed oil. Pour over the mussels and mushrooms. Stir until the sauce is thick and clear. Add the sibuyas na mura and stir a few more times before turning off the heat.

Serve at once.