LUMPIANG TAHONG

Among the millions of Filipino dishes that I have eaten, mussel is one of my favorite. It is a seashell that can be found piling itself to a bamboo planted under the sea. One must dive in order to get some.

Mussels can be smoked, boiled or steamed. It should be alive just before they are cooked because they quickly become toxic after they die. A simple criterion is that live mussels, when in the air, are tightly shut; open mussels are dead and should be discarded. The mussel shells open by themselves when cooked.

One dish that I know is the "Ginisang Tahong" which I had first eaten when I was in grade school. It became my favorite and I usually eat until my stomach bursts. Another is "Inihaw na Tahong". My brother says it stinks, but when I tasted it, it is extremely delicious! It is a perfect dish for a seafood addict. But this is not until I tasted "Lumpiang Tahong".

Originally, “lumpia” is made of cooked vegetables enfolded over a wrapper. Meat could also be a possible filling, but hearing "lumpiang tahong"? That is something new.

"Lumpiang Tahong" is invented by a friend. She handed me a pack of “lumpia” as a gift for my birthday. I fried it at home and ate it. It tasted so good that I almost ignored the spaghetti that my sister cooked for me. I insisted for the recipe and here it is. You might want to try it. It is delicious!

Ingredients: mussels, carrots
Onion, garlic
Wrapper, cooking oil
Salt, vetsin

Procedures:
1. Remove the mussel shells then slice the mussels into small pieces. Make sure you remove the black part of the mussels.
2. Sauté the mussels in cooking oil then mix the garlic, onion and carrots (sliced into small cubes).
3. Enfold the sautéed mussels into a wrapper.
4. Fry the wrapped sautéed mussels and you will have “lumpiang tahong”.
You can serve it with any sauce you want. Try it!

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