Weekend Pastime

I ordered 1 serving of boiled oyster (1 kilo including shell) plus 2 cups of rice for a light dinner at Allan’s Talabahan in Oton. Cost: PhP55 (US$1+) including softdrink.

The waitress set the table with a small bowl of siling labuyo (hot chili), slice of kalamansi, a bottle of soy sauce and sinamak. Sinamak is a bottled concoction made of red and green siling labuyo, ginger, coconut vinegar, garlic and other spices.

kalamansi, siling labuyo, sinamak and soy sauce are the necessary ingredients of a perfect "sawsawan"

While waiting, I squeezed the kalamansi, add vinegar from the bottle of sinamak, a few drops of soy sauce (optional) and to make my dip (sawsawan) a little bit spicy I minced 3 pcs. siling labuyo. Minutes later my order arrived. The owner herself served my plate of warm oysters that were still on its shell but already opened and ready to be eaten. She then placed two cups of steaming rice and a bottle of Sprite on the table. She provided me a plastic bowl with tap water where I supposed to dip my fingers.

Oysters are claimed to have aphrodisiac properties.

perfect "sawsawan" minus the soy sauce

Remove the soft flesh from its shell and marinate it in the “sawsawan”. Let it stay there for a while so that it can absorb the spicy mixture. Wash your hands first if you like to eat kamayan style.

all set for a spicy dinner

warm steamed rice is just perfect for talaba with spicy sawsawan

The secret of a juicy and tasty boiled oyster? Here’s the way to cook it:

Bring water to a boil. Collect the cleaned mussels in a screen bag and immerse it in the boiling pot for a few minutes. Do not overcook.