Baked Tahong or Baked Mussels is a very simple appetizer or cocktail dish that is made out of baked mussels and cheese. A popular hit in Philippine celebrations such as birthdays, fiestas and even family gathering as it is really easy to prepare, it is inexpensive (depends on where you are) and the visual presentation is stunning.
Traditionally this is prepared with lots of butter and cheese baked together with lots of bread crumbs.
This is a dish of mussels baked and stuffed with butter mixture containing butter, onion, garlic, cheese, salt and pepper. Cooking is this dish is very simple but there is a step that you don’t have to omit before cooking the mussels. Soak the mussels in water containing a teaspoon of salt for the mussels to spit out any sand or impurities. You also have to trim the hairs sticking out of the shell using a scissors.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo fresh large Tahongs or Mussels.
- ½ cup butter. (don’t use margarine, not good for your health).
- 6 cloves garlic, minced.
- ½ cup grated cheddar cheese.
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
Instructions
- Soak the Mussels/Tahong with water for at least an hour to get rid of the dirt inside the shell. Then drain it and place it on a pan with no water, cover and cook over moderate heat. When shells opens up, drain it and remove the top shell.
- Melt the butter then add minced garlic. Stir for few minutes. Brush each Mussels/Tahong meat with the mixture, top with grated cheese and cover with bread crumbs.
- Arrange Mussels/Tahong on a baking sheet. Bake in pre-heated oven with a low heat (250F). Bake it for 10 – 15 minutes.
