These tiny hot-pot helping of mussels in their luminescent green shells sitting in a hot lemony sauce can easily become addictive.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
- 15-20 mussels
- 6 cm/2½ knob galangal, peeled
- 5-cm/2-in length lemon grass
- 1 tablespoon chopped coriander root
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
- 25 g/1 oz sweet basil, torn
- 250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup chicken or fish stock
- 4 red chillies, seeded, if desired, and lightly crushed
- 5 shallots, peeled and coarsely pounded
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely pounded
- 3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon corn flour (cornstarch), mixed with 3 tablespoons water
- 1 green chilli, sliced
DIPPING SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 3½ tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 10 red chillies, crushed
- 7 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- ½ tablespoons sugar
Method:
Wash mussels in their shells and remove beards. Scrub shells well. Rinse in several changes of water.
Blend galangal with lemon grass and coriander root until pasty. Set aside. Prepare dipping sauce. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
Place mussels in an earthenware pot or a heavy-based non-aluminum pan. Add blended ingredients, kaffir lime leaves, basil, stock, chillies, shallots, garlic, fish sauce and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until mussels open.
Remove mussels and keep warm. Simmer sauce for another 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Stir in cornflour mixture and bring to the boil, stirring. Adjust thickness of sauce with stock, if desired.
Pour thickened sauce over mussels and stir to heat through. Serve hot with dipping sauce. Garnish with green chilli.
MICROWAVE METHOD
Place mussels and with blended ingredients, kaffir lime leaves, basil, stock, chillies, shallots and garlic in a microwave-safe dish. Cover partly with plastic to prevent splattering. Cook for 8 minutes on Medium until mussels open.
Remove plastic. Stir once and ladle fish sauce and lime juice on mussels. Stir in cornflour mixture, then cook for 1 minute on High. Stir and serve hot with dipping sauce. Garnish with green chilli.
Based on 6 Review(s)