Mama's Mussels Soup

My mom makes this mussels soup at least once a month when either her or my dad want sabaw (soup). Normally she stocks up with the frozen green mussels purchased at the Asian market, just in cases. Unfortunately, this was another last minute meal we put together when I was in San Francisco last weekend and sadly, Safeway did not have the frozen kind, so it was off to the freshness. (A bit more expensive, but totally worth it!)

Grocery list:

• 2lbs black mussels
• small ginger root, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 medium onion, sliced
  
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
  
• bunch of green onions (use only green part, cut in half)
• salt

The mussels were washed and we tried to get rid of the "beard" part, but then we just gave up and left them on. I sautéed the ginger with the onions for a few minutes in a large pot, then threw in the mussels. According to my mama, ginger is used to reduce the fishy flavor of the mussels. Then, I added enough water to cover the mussels, seasoned with some salt, threw in the green onions and tomatoes, then covered and let simmer.















The mussels opened up on their own. I love all green and red colors in this photo. It's almost Christmas-esque, right?

We had the soup with steamed white rice. AND because Ate B was feeling extra Filipino, we fried some lumpia on the side as well. Trust me, we didn't mind the extra fried food, right LC?
















A little FYI: Kristine, Ate B and I totally munched on Hot Cheetos while prepping for this dish. I had to get the large bag cuz Kristine warned me that if we bought the regular bag, she would NOT share! Oh youngest child.