Thai Style Mussels
These days the majority of mussels are rope grown and are available pretty much all year round. They are plentiful, cheap by comparison and take a damn good photo.
Although strictly speaking they are farmed, it’s really more a case of simply providing some nice fat rope in the right spot for them to cling to and nature does the rest.
But of course once something is labelled as farmed with the intention of it being sold as a foodstuff to the general public, all sorts of checks and regulations ensue, happily, which in the case of a bivalve filtering 50 litres of sea water a day can only be a good thing.
Most rope grown mussels are in pretty good nick when they arrive at the fishmongers, they don’t tend to have the barnacles of the wild ones or need such ferocious scrubbing. The beards will need removing, which is simply a case of giving it a quick tug.
The rest of the dish is a doddle. Packed full of classic Thai flavours; lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves and garlic, all bound together in a coconut broth and finished with chilli and coriander.
Fresh ingredients like these are well suited to quick cooking, the whole thing can be done and dusted in under 20 minutes and requires no more technical know-how than chopping and mincing…so to speak.
Serve the dish as a starter for four or as a light lunch for two; add some fresh noodles to the finished dish for something more substantial.
Ingredients
1kg fresh mussels, washed and de-bearded
1 stick of lemongrass
1 x inch piece root ginger, peeled
2 x cloves garlic
1 x tin of coconut milk
6 x small kaffir lime leaves
1 x tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 x long red chilli
1 x small bag fresh coriander
Discard any mussels that don’t shut tight after washing.
Strip the coriander leaves from the stalks and slice the red chilli, leave in the seeds if you like it hot.
Chop the garlic and ginger as finely as possible. Heat a splash of oil in a large pan and gently sauté the ginger and garlic together without colouring.
Smash the bulbous end of the lemongrass with the end of a rolling pin and add it to the pan. Increase the heat and add the coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and fish sauce.
Once the coconut milk begins to simmer, add the mussels and cover the pan with a lid. Shake the pan once or twice during cooking; the mussels should be steamed open in 4 or 5 minutes.
Divide the mussels between warmed bowls and serve garnished with the chilli and coriander.