Day Two - Page 100 - Pan Roasted Bouchot Mussels with OS

Today was unseasonably hot and a perfect day for the 10 minute drive up Highway 1 to Tomales Bay Oyster Company. Just a handful of very lucky people were enjoying the windless and sunny Monday afternoon barbequeing and eating oysters. I got 2 lbs (about 22 mussels) for $10 then stopped at the Palace Market for some sake. I was going to make Chang's pan roasted mussels with OS substituting Maine's Bouchot for some Pt Reyes morsels. Chang has an explanation for OS (oriental sauce!) but I still don't buy it.


I cooked this outside on the Big Kahuna because ventilation is a problem. But it was a full moon and I had a headlamp on so managed to see what I was doing. This is just after pouring in the sake:


I used white miso instead of Korean fermented bean paste. I'll have to look into that but I assume it's similar to the Chinese bean pastes. We're trying not to use much bean paste because it is so salty and a little goes a long way especially if you are already seasoning w/ soy sauce. (Momofuku dishes don't skimp on the salt.) But what is great about these recipes is that you can do lots of substituting, just go with what you have on hand and so far it has turned out pretty tasty.