Mussels Chinoise Recipes

THAI STEAMED MUSSELS

Steps:

• In a large stock pot, combine the lime juice, coconut milk, wine, curry paste, garlic, fish sauce and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and curry paste and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 2 minutes then add mussels. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mussels are opened, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and discard any unopened mussels. Pour mussels and liquid into a serving dish and toss with cilantro.

MUSSELS CHINOISE

Steps:

• Remove and discard the dried beards from the mussels and wash the mussels thoroughly at least twice under cool water, rubbing them against one another to help dislodge any sand.
• Put the mussels in a large nonreactive stockpot with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat. When the mixture begins to boil, stir well, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all shells have opened.
• Divide the mussels among six plates and spoon some of the juices over them. Serve immediately.

ASIAN-STYLE MUSSELS

Steps:

• Heat the oil a large skillet, with a lid, over medium heat. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and chili, and stir-fry until golden and aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add the water, fish sauce, and sugar, stir and bring to a simmer. Add the mussels, cover and steam until they open and plump slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Discard any mussels that do not open. Stir in the lime juice, cilantro, and mint leaves. Divide the mussels and broth evenly among the bowls. Serve.

CHINESE STEAMED MUSSELS

Steps:

• Heat the wok over high heat and add the peanut oil. Add the garlic, ginger, chiles and rice wine and stir-fry for less than 1 minute. Add the mussels and stir-fry for less than 1 minute.
• Add the Chinese beer and the whites of the spring onions and cook until the mussels open, stirring occasionally. Discard any that do not open. Season the mussels with the light soy sauce.
• Sprinkle in the greens of the spring onions and the cilantro, serve immediately.

STEAMED MUSSELS, ASIAN STYLE

Steps:

• Put the oil in a saucepan large enough to hold all the mussels and turn the heat to medium. A minute later, add the scallion, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 minute.
• Add the mussels, turn the heat to high, and cover the pot. Cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until they all (or nearly all) open, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Scoop the mussels into a serving bowl. Add the soy sauce to the liquid, then pass it through a fine strainer (or a coarse one lined with cheesecloth). Pour the liquid over the mussels and serve.
• Variations
• Curried Steamed Mussels: Substitute butter for the oil. Substitute shallot for the scallion and omit the ginger and garlic. When the shallot is soft, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon curry powder and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds. Cook and finish as directed, substituting the juice of 1 lime for the soy sauce.
• Thai Steamed Mussels: Use peanut oil. Add 1 lemongrass stalk, roughly chopped; 1 small dried hot red chile; and 2 lime leaves to the scallion, ginger, and garlic. Substitute nam pla (fish sauce) for the soy sauce.
• Steamed Clams with Soy: Most mussel recipes will work for steamers, which are also known as soft-shell clams. But steamers must be rinsed after shucking to remove all traces of sand, and you don't want to dilute these delicious broths by dipping clams into them one after the other. The solution is to substitute littlenecks-small hardshell clams, the kind served on the half shell and used for pasta with clam sauce-for the mussels. These contain no sand at all, but because their shells are heavier, use 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of littlenecks to replace each pound of mussels. Proceed exactly as directed.
• Mussels
• Every year, we see more and more cultivated mussels, most often from Prince Edward Island, which is fast becoming the mussel farming capital of North America. These are easy to clean (almost clean enough to eat without washing, but still worth a quick going over), with very few rejects and plump meat. Wild mussels are far tastier but harder to clean. When cleaning mussels, discard any with broken shells. If the mussels have beards-the hairy vegetative growth that is attached to the shell-trim them off. Those mussels that remain closed after the majority have been steamed open can be pried open with a knife (a butter knife works fine) at the table.

SPICY MUSSELS WITH CHINESE SEASONINGS

Steps:

• Scrub and debeard the mussels.
• Heat oil in a saucepan large enough to hold the mussels with room to spare, or use a large wok. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and saute until tender but not brown. Stir in the five-spice powder, rice wine and vinegar. Bring to a simmer.
• Add the mussels, cover and cook over medium heat until the mussels have opened. Transfer the mussels to individual dishes, discarding any that have not opened.
• Stir the sesame oil into the broth and add the chili oil and soy sauce to taste. Pour the broth over the mussels, garnish with scallions and serve.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH COCONUT MILK AND THAI CHILES

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine the garlic, chiles, ginger, cilantro, lime zest and olive oil and process to a paste; transfer to a large bowl. Whisk in the coconut milk and lime juice and season with salt.
• In a large soup pot, bring the lager to a boil over high heat. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 7 minutes. Add the mussels, cover and cook, shaking the pot a few times, until the mussels just begin to open, about 4 minutes.
• Uncover the mussels and stir in the coconut milk mixture. Cover and cook, shaking the pot a few times, until all of the mussels open, about 8 minutes. Spoon the mussels and broth into bowls and serve.
• Note: Beer: Since this Thai-influenced recipe calls for lager, a Thai lager would be a natural accompaniment. Consider the hoppy Singha lager from Boon Rawd Brewery, which has been making beer in Thailand for 72 years.