Baked Tahong

This recipe is a crowd favorite, especially by my children Claire and Ivan. It is actually the recipe of Ate Mao, my sis-in-law. Whenever our family would come visit their house on weekends, she would always ask us what we want to eat- and since Saturday is "market day" she would offer to buy big, plump and juicy tahong/shell fish to make into her delicious Baked Tahong. 

I quickly adopted this recipe and make some for my children when craving hits hard. When my niece Maya who lives in California stayed with us for a year, I made this so she can taste how good it is. The smell of the tahong while baking was enough to make your mouth water. After taking it out, it didn't even have enough time to cool as I was surprised to see Ivan and Maya devouring every bit of baked tahong they can get their hands into! Good thing I made another batch for the rest of the family to enjoy. This is so good with alcohol too, so choose your poison so to speak- Beer, White Wine, Mule or Soju? Cheers!

Ingredients

1 kg Tahong or mussels

1/4 cup Butter, softened

2 cloves, garlic, minced

a pinch of paprika

a pinch of salt

a pinch of pepper

1 tsp honey

1 cup grated cheese of your choice (mozzarella, cheddar, any local cheese brand)

1. Steam the mussels until it opens. Remove half of the shell.

2. Combine the softened butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, paprika and honey.

3. Brush butter mixture on the mussels.

4. Top with grated cheese.

5. Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts and/or turns golden brown