Tinolang tahong is the seafood version of the popular tinolang manok. With almost the same ingredients in cooking tinonalang manok you can cook this recipe minus the cooking time because seafood needs less time to cook. The vegetables used in cooking this dish can also be substituted. For example, green papaya is not always found in the market. You can use chayote instead. Likewise, pechay can be substituted with siling labuyo (bird’s eye chili) leaves. If you are using green papaya, choose a slightly ripe one because it adds a little sweet taste to the dish.
To cook tinolang tahong; Clean the mussels well and soak in a salted water (about 1 tsp of salt) in a small basin for about an hour. Drain. Peel the green papaya and cut in halve. Remove the seeds and slice into cube or rectangular pieces. In a medium size wok, heat oil and saute garlic until fragrant. Follow the ginger and onion and saute until the onions are soft. Put the mussels and gently stir cook for 5 minutes or until the shells are opened and the color of the meat turns to orange or white. Next is add the papaya and mix for a while then add the patis, salt and pepper to taste. Pour water just enough to cover the mussels. Cover and bring to a boil, lower heat then simmer for 10 minutes or until the papaya is cooked. Last but not the least, add the pechay or siling labuyo leaves then cover and simmer again for 3 to 4 minutes.
How to Cook Tinolang Tahong
Ingredients
- 1/2 kilo tahong mussels
- 1 bundle pechay or dahon ng sili
- 1 inch long ginger julienne
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red onion sliced
- 1 Tbsp. patis or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small green papaya slightly ripe
- 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
- water
Instructions
How to cook Tinolang Tahong:
- Clean the mussels well and soak in a salted water (about 1 tsp of salt) in a small basin for about an hour. Drain.
- Peel the green papaya and cut in halve. Remove the seeds and slice into cube or rectangular pieces.
- In a medium size wok, heat oil and saute garlic until fragrant. Follow the ginger and onion and saute until the onions are soft.
- Put the mussels and gently stir cook for 5 minutes or until the shells are opened and the color of the meat turns to orange or white.
- Next is add the papaya and mix for a while then add the patis, salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour water just enough to cover the mussels. Cover and bring to a boil, lower heat then simmer for 10 minutes or until the papaya is cooked.
- Last but not the least, add the pechay or siling labuyo leaves then cover and simmer again for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve hot.
