Mussels Thai Style
Mussels are one of those dishes that people tend to only eat when they are out, and people rarely think of cooking them at home. They are cheap as chips to buy compared to other shellfish and lend themselves well to lots of different flavours and sauces. The classic way to cook them is with white wine, garlic and parsley, but I really like this Thai version. As always, be vigilant when preparing mussels, as they are the scavengers of the sea, so you must scrub them. Ensure you buy them from a reputable fishmonger and discard any that are open. When you are cleaning them, make sure to take any beardy bits out from the side of the shell. All mussels should be tightly shut when raw and should all open when they are cooked; discard any mussels which do not fully open once cooked.
Ingredients
1 pound of fresh mussels
¼ pint of reduced-fat coconut milk
1 large clove of garlic
1 tbsp of sugar
1 knob of fresh ginger
1 red chilli, deseeded
1 cup of fresh coriander
1 stick of lemongrass
A little oil
Skinny French fries to serve
Method
On a chopping board, finely chop the chilli, garlic, lemongrass and ginger. Heat some oil in a large saucepan, add these chopped ingredients and stir around in the oil for a few minutes, pour in the cleaned mussels and stir around to coat the mussels, lower the heat and add the coconut milk. Put a top on the saucepan and steam the mussels for about 5 minutes until all the mussels are cooked and have opened. Now, with a slotted spoon, take the mussels out of the pan and reduce the sauce a little, check the seasoning and add the spoon of sugar. When the sauce has thickened a little, add the mussels back in and then add the fresh chopped coriander; stir the mussels around to coat with the sauce. Serve immediately with some nice thin crispy chips or crusty bread to mop up the juices.