Spicy Thai Steamed Mussels Recipe

A Quick, Delicious Spring Time Seafood Treat!

We've made this Spicy Thai Steamed Mussels recipe a couple times, and are huge fans. Not only is it relatively simple and quick to make, it taste ooooh so delicious. The curry sauce is so flavorful, in fact, that we've considered making it as a stand alone curry soup. This dish goes great as a traditional curry soup with rice, or with slices of bread to dip in the curry sauce. If you can find wild mussels or fresh in season mussels at your grocery store, this is the dish to beat this Spring!

Ingredients (Serves 6)

• 5 pounds mussels (preferably cultivated)
• 3 limes (1/3 cup lime juice)
• a 13 1/2-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups fresh cilantro sprigs (chopped)

Accompaniment: lime wedges

Preparing Your Mussels

Selecting Your Mussels

The first step to cooking tasty mussels is selecting the right ones. Look for ones that aren't broken (chipped or damaged). And don't pick any that are open - they should be tightly closed. After bringing your mussels home, unwrap them so they can breathe - you don't want them to die before cooking them.

Soaking Your Mussels

Soak them in fresh water for 20 minutes. This will help reduce the sand and salt they contain. The mussels, through breathing, actually filter the water and expel the sand.

Cleaning Your Mussels 

First off, clean (scrub) the mussels, removing the beards. What is "the beard" you ask? Great question. The beard, or "byssal threads," are the fibers poking out of the shell. Grab the beard with a dry towel and give it a sharp yank outwards and toward's the mussel's hinge. If you pull towards the side the mussel opens on, you might tear and kill the mussel.

Making the Curry

In a medium-sized pot, boil the coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce, wine, lime juice, garlic, and sugar over high heat, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add and toss the mussels. You'll want to cook them until they open (shouldn't take more than 10 minutes). If some of the mussels are being stubborn and refuse to open, that's normal - simply discard those. As a last step, toss in the cilantro.

How to Serve

We've served this with both bread and rice. If you're a big curry fan, you might enjoy having a bowl of rice with the curry and mussels on top (Sous Chef's preference). Our executive chef likes to toast some homemade bread and dip it in the curry sauce while enjoying the mussels. You can also cut up some extra lime wedges to add as garnish, or for an extra bit of acidity. 

Enjoy, and please comment below with your experience, thoughts, critiques, etc.! 

For the original recipe, visit Epicurious.