MUSSELS WITH THAI TWIST

You can use any kind of mussels as long as the date in the bag is not its last day for use.  Yes, a bag of commercially harvested mussels always has a date on its tag.  Read it so you know how fresh your mussels are.

For a change, I wanted my mussel dish with a Thai flavor twist to it.  So i used the following ingredients I had:

HOW TO MAKE IT:

Ingredients:

1 small shallot minced

3 cloves of garlic minced

1/2  can of unsweetened coconut milk

3 TB safflower or canola oil

2 TB chili paste basil

2 TB Thai basil leaves

1 or 2 stalks of lemon grass cut in 1-1/2 inch lengths

Juice of 1/2 lime

Fish sauce to taste (1 tsp)

1 bag of fresh mussels

Sauté The garlic and shallot till translucent.  Add the coconut milk and all other ingredients except the mussels.  Cover pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Add in the clean fresh mussels, and squeeze the lime juice over.  Cover the pot and cook for about 20 minutes till all the shells open.  Serve.

If you cook a long time, the meat of the mussels start falling off into the pot and they will appear dry.  Best served right away.

May eat it with rice or toasted baguette with garlic rubbed on it.

LECHON CHICKEN RECIPE

Here's a recipe I did not invent but was passed on to me.  If you make this, you certainly would enjoy eating it with or without the sauce they suggest.

Lechon means roasted but usually associated with roasted pig.  They call it lechon chicken because it is similar to the way a Philippine Roasted pignus cooked.  

RECIPE:

* 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) or 3lb dressed whole chicken

* 1 8 oz Sprite or 7up

* 3 tbsp of white or brown sugar

* 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced

* 1 medium sized onion, sliced

* 3 tbsp of lemon or calamansi juice

* 1 thumb size ginger, sliced

* 1 or 2 stalks of lemon grass (tanglad)

* ground black pepper

* 3 bay leaves

* 1 stick of butter

* salt

* 3 tbsp soy sauce

Cooking Instructions:

* Marinate the whole chicken in Sprite or 7up, soy sauce, calamansi juice, garlic, ginger, onions, pepper and sugar for an hour or more. To get the best result we suggest to marinate the chicken overnight.

* Preheat the oven to 325°C.

(About 375 degrees F)

* Stuff the Chicken cavity with the following:  lemon grass tied together, garlic, bay leaves and Peppers.

* Inject the marinade mix unto the inside of the chicken.

* Rub the chicken’s skin with butter, salt, pepper and garlic.

* Finally, roast the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown.

* While roasting brush or baste the chicken’s skin, with butter about every 15 minutes

Optional* Serve hot with Mang Tomas lechon sauce.  (A bottled sauce sold in Asian grocery stores meant to be eaten with roasted pig)

Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken

I like the pickled greenbeans called dilly with spicy mayo dip. The chicken has spices.  And I have an arugula salad to stay healthy.

Finally open for business! Have tried a couple of weeks and decided to go today.

Now that I've eaten it, it's over hyped up.  I know a better fried chicken on 6th street and Avenue  C. 

The chicken here has too much coating and I can't taste the chicken.  The only bottled sauce I liked was the Mustard Honey.  The Chipotle honey was medicine-like. 

I was looking forward to this. And I never said anything bad of any restaurant ever yet.  I think I got so disappointed on this one.