First of all, you need to understand that the flesh inside of a shell is the one eatable. Though in buying it, a shell is always included since the flesh is being attached to it or part of it. Eating a seashell is a bit of a hassle because either you need to break the shell or use a sharp material in getting the flesh from inside. It's unavoidable if we really love to eat seashells. Who will not anyway if you just don't have an allergy to this kind of food. Seafood is delicious food, after all, even I can tell.
The first preparation you need to do before getting ready the ingredients to use in cooking seashells is to make sure the flesh of it will not stay inside. It means to say, make sure to easily get the flesh of a seashell by letting it be seen outside its shell. Of course, it can be cooked with the procedure I'm going to tell you but it will be hard eating the flesh.
I'm not going to include the seawater as an ingredient since it's not really part of the ingredients in cooking it to be eaten. It's like just a pre-preparation to let the ingredients be ready before starting to cook.
Assuming you have a lot of pieces of seashells. It's not being measured through weights but counted through numbers in buying it. This time when I was cooking we bought 40 pieces of seashells named "sa-ang" (a Bisayan name of a certain type of seashell.) I want you to keep in mind if you want to make sure the flesh of the seashells will be seen outside its shells.
Get a pot to use in cooking and place all the seashells there. Make sure that the pot can let every piece of seashells be inside. While placing the seashells in the pot, add seawater there too. Make sure every seashell can feel the seawater to let them feel alive again or moving. Wait for at least 10 - 30 minutes while the seashells enjoy the seawater. After a few minutes, check first if the seashells are moving. When they're moving, that's the time you lit a fire to boil the seawater while the seashells are inside. It's like you need to catch them on a surprise that the shells die while their flesh is moving.
Boiling the seawater with the seashells on it doesn't require any specific time. Although just a guide not to make you keep on checking the seashells are already cooked. Wait at least 30 minutes to boil it and see if the flesh is already cooked outside. However, seeing the flesh shown outside the shell is not enough. You should pull one flesh as an example if it's not hard to remove it from its shell. If it's easy to do so, then that's the time the seashells are good to cook off any type of cuisine you want to do using seashells.
Considering the seashells are showing their flesh from their shells. Remove the seashells from the pot and throw the seawater. You need to prepare the ingredients for cooking. Just a recommendation, by the way, it's delicious to eat seashells with coconut milk added to it. This time that's what I did.
ginger and onion
coconut milk
vegetable leaves (moringa and camote tops)
seashells
Ingredients
Coconut milk - (3 glasses pure and 7 glasses less pure) from the grated coconut fruit.
ginger - a small piece, maybe the same size with two fingers
onion - 1 piece
salt - 3 tbsp
vegetable leaves - no certain amount (it's up to you to decide)
seashells - 40 pieces
Procedure
- Use the less-pure coconut milk in cooking first the spices. Place at least ¼ glass of it and place the onion and ginger. No certain amount of time, just monitor when the coconut milk will be drained in the pot.
Place all the less pure coconut milk after the spices are being cooked already. Together with it place all the seashells as well. To control the saltiness, add at least 2 tbsp of salt, and now wait until it boils.
When it is boiled, place the pure coconut milk. The pure coconut will be the one to stand out from the taste of its coconut milk. This is the reason why we must place it in the end.
When another boiling is happening, taste it first if the saltiness is fine or add all the salt you are ready first in cooking. Always remember that in terms of tasting the salt it's us who can identify it if it's fine. While doing so, place the vegetable leaves and wait until it boils again.
Taste it if it's fine or add more salt, you don't need to add sedatives to taste more delicious. When it boils, the food or the seashells or the "ginataang kinason" is ready to be served to eat.
That's how simple it is in cooking seashells with coconut milk cuisine. Just make sure the flesh of it will be outside so there will be no hassle and delay in eating it.
Thank you for reading
All content is my own unless otherwise noted
If images are being recycled, I just found it fit in my article.
ABOUT ME
Paul is the name but prefers to be called mrnightmare that feels like living in the dream. A country boy and a dreamboy (dreamer) who likes to stay in a small village even though it means abandoning the future to become a seaman. The passion is writing but not sailing in the vast ocean. Don't wonder if the face will not be shown, this is better where the words can flow smoothly. Come, you can tell me your stories and I'll tell you mine. Together, let's explore the world by broadening our thoughts. If you need a shoulder I can lean you mine and I hope I can lean yours. The world is fun when living is not being alone but with someone.