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Seafood Lunch / Dinner Soups

Mussel soup with ginger scallion broth

Published: 05.09.2022 » Last updated: 06.07.2022

Soaked and debearded mussels are dropped in ginger scallion broth and boiled just until the shells open. The heat is turned off, the pot covered and the mussels are left to cook in the residual heat.

Mussels in ginger scallion broth

Tinolang tahong and sinabawang tahong are only two of the names by which this simple and rustic Filipino soup is called in some food blogs. We didn’t have a name for it when I was a child. But it was on our dining table often. I still cook it the way my father did. And I still prep mussels as carefully as he did.

You must have heard the term “debearded mussels” or “debeard the mussels” or “debearding mussels” before. It might sound something from another planet because how the heck could mussels have beard, right? Do they even have faces on which beard could grow? Mussels don’t have faces like we do but they do have something that resembles human beard.

What we call “beard” is byssus — filaments that mussels (and a few other molluscs) grow so they can attach themselves to rocks and other solid surfaces. A strand is about the same size of human hair so we can forgive whoever first used the term “beard” to refer to byssus.

Debearding a mussel

How the byssus is formed is a fascinating process but the bottomline is that it isn’t edible. You need to tug it out and discard it. How easily it comes off depends on how tightly shut the mussel shell is. Newly harvested mussels will have very tightly shut shells and removing the byssus is difficult. You want the mussels to open their shells a bit for easier removal of the dreaded beard.

I rinse the mussels first, place them in a bowl, cover them with water and sprinkle in a tablespoon or two of rock salt. I cover the bowl loosely and place it in the fridge for an hour or two. I take the mussels out of the fridge and rinse them repeatedly until the water is clear. At that point, the shells are partially open and it is easier to tug off the beard. With the beards discarded and any trapped silt inside the mussel shells removed from the repeated rinsing and shaking, the mussels are ready for the pot.

Sauteeing ginger and scallions before adding water to make broth

But, first, a spice base for the broth. Slices of ginger and the bottom third of scallion stalks are sauteed until aromatic. Then, water is poured in. Yes, just plain water. The real flavor comes later after the mussels are added. So, just plain water.

Adding fish sauce to broth / Mussels in broth in pot

Fish sauce goes into the pot. The beginnings of a beautiful broth is now in place. But, to heighten the flavors, I allow the mixture to simmer for about ten minutes before adding the mussels. By the time the liquid comes to a full boil, the mussel shells are just starting to open. I cover the pot, turn off the stove and leave the mussels to cook in the residual heat. That way, they never get overcooked.

Mussel soup with ginger scallion broth

Connie Veneracion
Mussels don't take long to cook. The meat is ready to be plucked once the shells open. But, if you want to make sure that the mussel meat is fully cooked, leave in the hot broth, with heat off, for five minutes.
Ginger scallion mussel soup
Print Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Course Soup
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 1 two-inch knob ginger - sliced
  • 12 to 15 stalks scallions - cut into thirds
  • ¼ cup fish sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 ½ kilograms fresh mussels - cleaned and debearded

Instructions
 

  • Heat the cooking oil in a pot.
  • Saute the ginger and bottom third of the scallion stalks until aromatic.
  • Pour in eight cups of water and the fish sauce.
  • Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for ten minutes.
  • Turn up the heat, drop in the mussels and bring to the boil.
  • Once the mussel shells open a bit, cover the pot, turn off the heat and leave the mussels to cook in the hot broth for five minutes.
  • Take the top portions of the scallions stalks and thinly slice.
  • Taste the broth and add more fish sauce, if needed.
  • Ladle the mussels and broth into bowls, sprinkle in the sliced scallions and serve.
Print Pin Recipe
Keyword Mussels

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Newsletter department

  • #18 Cooking for Lent
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    A few readers have emailed asking me to post recipes for Lent, and I tell them there is NO need for NEW recipes. Instead, they should try digging into the seafood, mushrooms and tofu recipe archives.

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Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

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