Spicy Thai Steamed Mussels 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.

THAI RED CURRY MUSSELS

Steps:

• Heat grill to high. Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven on the grates of the grill until shimmering. Add the lemongrass, curry paste, wine, coconut milk, fish sauce, and lime juice and bring to a simmer, whisking. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and let steam until opened. During the last minute of cooking, add the cilantro and basil. Serve from Dutch oven into individual bowls, discarding the lemongrass.

SPICY THAI STEAMED MUSSELS

Steps:

• Scrub mussels well and remove beards. Squeeze enough juice from limes to measure 1/3 cup. In an 8-quart kettle boil lime juice, coconut milk, wine, curry paste, garlic, fish sauce, and sugar over high heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Add mussels, tossing to combine. Cook mussels, covered, stirring occasionally, until opened, about 5 to 8 minutes. (Discard any unopened mussels.) Chop cilantro and toss with mussels.
• Serve mussels with lime wedges.

SPICY STEAMED MUSSELS

Steps:

• Pick through the washed mussels making sure that they are all tightly closed and all of the beards have been removed.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, and ginger and saute until translucent but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chiles, curry powder, and coriander and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the wine and the water and bring to a boil.
• Once the mixture is boiling, add the mussels and cover. Steam the mussels for about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have all opened.
• Remove the mussels from the heat and discard any that are not open. Place the mussels in a large serving platter, cover to keep warm. Return the pan to the heat, add the cream, season with pepper, to taste, and bring to a simmer. Add the cilantro, scallions, lime zest and juice. Pour the liquid over the top of the mussels.
• Preheat a grill pan to medium-high heat. Drizzle the bread with olive oil and grill 1 minute per side. Serve with the steamed mussels.

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 COCONUT MUSSELS WITH LEMONGRASS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in the bottom of a large pot until hot. Add the shallot, garlic, lemongrass and chile. Cook over medium heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk and mussels. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook until the mussels have opened, 5 to 7 minutes (discard any mussels that remained closed). Remove from heat, and use a slotted spoon to transfer the mussels to a large bowl, leaving the liquid in the pot. Stir the lemon zest and juice, fish sauce and cilantro into the pot. Taste and add more fish sauce and/or lemon juice if needed (fish sauce provides the salt).
• As the mussels cook, heat the broiler. Place the croissants, cut side up, on a small baking sheet. Run under the broiler until just golden. Put the mussels in two wide, shallow bowls. Ladle the broth over them and serve with the croissants.

STEAMED THAI MUSSELS

Steps:

• Whisk together all but the mussels.
• Arrange mussels on a barbecue, close lid and cook 5 minutes or until mussels open. Transfer to a platter.
• Drizzle with the sauce.

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.

STEAMED MUSSELS IN THAI BROTH

Steps:

• In a large (6-quart) pot over medium-low heat, combine mint, cilantro, basil, lemon grass, shallots, garlic, curry paste and tom yum. Stir until herb leaves wilt, about 5 minutes. Add sake, lemon juice and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Strain broth into another large pot. Add mussels, tomato and lime leaf. Cover, and place over high heat. Cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Transfer to serving bowls, and garnish with chopped cilantro, basil and mint. Serve immediately.