Sizzling Tahong

Sizzling Tahong is a Filipino party dish, made by frying cooked mussels in garlic, chili flakes, butter, oyster sauce, cheese, oil, salt and pepper. This tahong is served in a heated sizzling plate to the party or to the guest of a gathering. Planning for a beach party and running out of snack ideas? Try this quick and easy sizzling tahong recipe! Set up your bonfire and have these chewy and savoury mussels and have them with some ice cold beer. Yum!

THE HISTORY OF SIZZLING DISHES

Sizzling is a word which means “very hot” when you looked it up on the dictionary. With this meaning, there are two interpretations of sizzling when it comes to food. Me and my friend had a mini debate on what a sizzling dish really is. We tried different restaurants and got their best-selling sizzling dish and see what we got.

Sizzling is usually associated with sisig. But to be honest, anything can be a sizzling dish if you’d make it to.

What me and my friend found out is that in a sizzling dish, either the food is super spicy with a lot of chilies or the food is served on a sizzling plate while sizzling. Most of the time, sizzling dishes are super spicy dishes served on a sizzling platter. In the end, no debate needed, right?

How is a sizzling platter different from other serving plates? Serving plates are usually made of different materials like glass, porcelain or ceramic. They are created beautifully as using them adds to the overall presentation of the food.

Meanwhile, a sizzling plate/platter is made up of cast iron with a wooden plate underneath. The concept of using sizzling plates is to contain the heat of the food until it reaches the customer or the person to eat it.  In this way, the final cooking of the food is finished right in front of the person! Now I understand why most sizzling plates crack a raw egg on top and then the egg cooks as the plate cools down.

HOW TO COOK SIZZLING TAHONG

The preparation time for the sizzling time may take a while. But the actual cooking is quick and fun. What are you waiting for? Let’s cook some sizzling tahong now! 🙂

To start, wash and clean your mussels. Wash your mussels thoroughly. Some mussels still have sand inside them. Instead of just letting the water run through the shells, I usually pour a lot of water on the mussels and wash them  underwater. I also have read hacks on how to remove sands from clams and shells like soaking them in water and adding some salt (to copy the saltwater). You can also try this hack if the mussels you got are too sandy.

Some mussels also have some hairy beard in them. Simply pull them out using your hands. This step is actually optional. But a lot of people prefer to remove them. Do not remove the mussels from the shells yet. As we boil them, the seafood taste from the shells will contribute to the overall impact of the taste. Mussels cooks fast and might only take around 5 minutes.

When cooked, remove the mussels from the shells. The next part would include sauteing the mussels and adding seasonings and umami flavorings from oyster sauce and garlic. You can also add some spices if you’d want to. Just remember not to overcook the mussels as they might get too chewy.

The last part would be transfering the mussels to the sizzling plate, hence, sizzling tahong.  Melt some butter first for added flavor, and most especially, for the mussels not to stick and get burned in the sizzling plate.

Top with the sizzling tahong with whatever you like. I added cheese and spring onions in this recipe. You can add chilies and bacon bits too!! Yum!

Sizzling Tahong

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Course: Uncategorized

Servings

5

servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 kilo mussels

• 6 cloves of garlic (minced)

• Chili flakes (to taste)

• 3 tablespoons of butter

• 10 grams oyster sauce

• Grated cheese

• Salt to taste

• Pepper to taste

• Oil (for sauteing)

Directions

• Wash and clean the mussels and place them in a bowl. Remove the hairy beard on each mussel by pulling them using your hands.
• After cleaning, transfer the mussels in a pot. Add around 1/4 cup of water. Cover the pot and let the mussels cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes, turn the heat off. Drain the mussels and transfer them to a bowl.
• Remove each mussel from the shell. Remove the hair, if any. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a pan. Then add about a tablespoon of oil. Add the minced garlic and saute for a few minutes until light brown. Add the chili flakes according to your preference. Add the cooked mussels and saute for a few minutes.
• Add the oyster sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Stir a bit. Set aside.
• Heat the sizzling plate and melt some butter. Transfer the cooked mussels in the sizzling plate.
• Top with grated cheese and chopped spring onions before serving. Enjoy it as a pulutan of with hot steaming rice while it sizzles!

Sizzling Tahong Recipe (TAGALOG)

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 1/2 kilo ng tahong
• 6 butil ng bawang (hiniwa ng maliliit)
• Chili flakes
• 3 kutsara ng butter
• 10 grams oyster sauce
• Grated cheese
• Asin at paminta
• Mantika (pang-gisa)

Paano Gawin:

1. Linisin ang mga tahong at ilagay sa bowl. Gamitin ang mga kamay para hilahin ang buhok ng tahong, kung meron man.
2. Ilipat ang mga tahong sa pot. Maglagay ng 1/4 tasa ng tubig. Takpan ang pot at lutuin ang mga tahong ng 3 – 5 minuto.
3. Pagkatapos ng 5 minuto, patayin ang apoy. Salain ang mga tahong at ilipat sa bowl.
4. Tanggalin ang bawat tahong sa mga shells. Alisin kung mayroon pang natirang buhok. Isantabi.
5. Magtunaw ng butter sa kawali. Lagyan ng 1 kutsara ng mantika. Igisa ang tinadtad na bawang hanggang maging light brown. Maglagay ng chili flakes kung gusto mo ng maanghang. Ilagay ang mga tahong at igisa ng ilang minuto.
6. Sunod na ilagay ang oyster sauce at budburan ng asin at paminta. Haluin ng konti. Isantabi.
7. Painitin ang sizzling plate at magtunaw ng butter. Ilipat ang nilutong tahong sa sizzling plate.
8. Budburan ng grated cheese at spring onions sa ibabaw bago iserve. Ihain ito bilang pulutuan o samahan ng mainit na kanin. Enjoy!