Mytilus is a kind of mollusk, also known as crooked river, mussel shell, crooked son and so on. It lives at the bottom of freshwater lakes, ponds, rivers and other places, and is half buried in sediment. Almost no one who comes out of the countryside like Bian Xiao has never seen this thing. As far as I can remember, when I was a child, the river was everywhere, and I never ate it. It is terrible to hear adults say that there are many parasites in clam meat. But it is common to feed ducks with clam meat.

In fact, mussel meat is rich in trace elements needed by human body, such as protein and calcium, and it is a delicious and rare medicinal material. 100g mussel meat contains protein 10.9g, calcium 248mg, iron 26.6mg, zinc 6.23mg, phosphorus 305mg, selenium 20.24mg and carotene 2.3mg Regular eating has the effects of strengthening the brain, improving intelligence, nourishing yin and calming the liver, improving eyesight and strengthening teeth. Relevant data show that mussel meat can also relieve ethanol toxicity, clear away heat and nourish yin, and improve human immunity. It is an important medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine.

When I was a child, my father treated mussels and put them in a water tank to purify water. The reasons for it were not known I didn't know that mussels were excellent and delicious until I grew up. The boiled soup is mellow, delicious and fragrant. Many people know that mussel meat is not easy to cook, mainly because of the structure of axe feet and their edges in mussel meat. The more heated, the easier it is to harden. Therefore, before cooking, it is necessary to repeatedly beat the edge of the axe foot with a wooden stick to change the loose structure of its meat, so that it is easy to boil and eat.

The bought mussels should be soaked in clear water for two or three days, and then cooked after spitting out the sediment. The lid of fresh mussel shell is tightly closed, which is difficult to open by hand, mainly because there are adductor muscles (mussel column for short) in the shell. The closed muscle is the switch for mussels to open and close. Once closed, it is extremely difficult to open it by hand. If you can break it by hand, it means it is a dead clam. There will be a foul smell after opening, and the meat is gray, and bacteria have multiplied in large numbers, so it must not be eaten.

When taking meat from fresh mussels, the left hand should hold the mussel tightly, and the right hand should take a knife and slowly penetrate into the body about one-third of the depth from the inner shell wall near the mussel outlet, and then forcibly scrape the mussel's suction muscle to spread the mussel. Of course, it can also be cooked in hot water, which will open naturally.

The meat removal of mussels is also a key link. After opening, you should first remove the grayish yellow cheeks and the mud intestines at the back. Usually, the deposits in the intestine are not easy to remove. You have to cut the intestines with scissors, then rinse them repeatedly with water, or rub them with salt, then remove the mucus and cook them.

Here is a method for stew mussels and bacon in casserole:

Mytilus 2000g, bacon150g. 50g of winter bamboo shoots, 30g of mushrooms, 25g of cooking wine, 5g of white pepper, 3g of ginger, onion and salt.

1, fresh mussel is washed and cut into pieces for later use, ginger is sliced, onion is cut, winter bamboo shoots are peeled and sliced, and mushrooms are pedicled.

2. Soak the bacon in clear water and cut it into strips of 3cm* 1cm.

3. Knock the mussels loose with a wooden stick and wash them. Cook in a pot with cold water until the soup turns white. Take out the mussels for later use.

4 Add the cooked soup to the casserole, then add the bacon and mussels, bring to a boil with high fire, skim off the foam, turn to low heat, and add the onion and ginger cooking wine.

4 stew until 80% mature, add winter bamboo shoots, mushroom slices and salt, stew until rotten, remove ginger and onion, and sprinkle with white pepper.

Uncover the lid before serving, and remember never to put monosodium glutamate, because mussels have a strong flavor, and putting monosodium glutamate will have a bad taste.

Friendly reminder: mussels contain high concentration of pentavalent arsenic compounds, which will form trace arsenic when combined with a large amount of vitamin C, so try to avoid eating with beer and fruits rich in vitamin C.

I also think of the allusion that "the snipe and the clam strive for each other, and the fisherman gains". There are many such stories in modern life. I hope everyone is a fisherman, but it is best not to gain anything from the competition of others. Think about how good the world would be if everyone was a winner!