Steamed Mussels With Thai-Style Coconut-Curry Broth

Mussels are the easiest choose-your-own-adventure one-pot meal around, and I intend to prove it to you. This version uses my standard steamed mussel technique and combines it with flavors from Central Thailand to create a dish whose basic process is pretty much identical to the French version, but whose end results are entirely different.

Steamed Mussels With Thai-Style Coconut-Curry Broth
Servings 4
Difficulty Medium

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1

    Combine cilantro stems, half of garlic, half of shallot, coriander seeds, dried chile, lime zest and a small pinch of kosher salt in a mortar and pestle. Pound and grind until a smooth paste is formed.

  2. 2

    Scoop 2 tablespoons of thick cream from the top of the can of coconut milk and add to a large saucepan. Add oil and heat over medium heat until shimmering and sputtering. Add remaining garlic and shallots, pounded aromatic paste, and the store-bought (or homemade) curry paste. Cook, stirring and scraping the paste around the bottom of the pan until very aromatic, about 4 minutes. Add remaining contents of coconut milk can, sugar, and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook until rich and aromatic, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with more fish sauce as desired.

  3. 3

    Add mussels, stir, cover, and cook, shaking pan constantly and peeking every 30 seconds to stir. As soon as all the mussels are open, stir in chopped cilantro leaves, fresh chile, and lime juice. Serve immediately, with additional limes at the table.

  4. 4

    I strongly advise using a good mortar and pestle for making the curry paste, though in a pinch a blender will do. To make in a blender, add aromatics and curry paste to the blender along with a tablespoon of water. Blend on high speed, scraping down sides and adding water as necessary until a paste is formed.

  5. 5

    Examine mussels before using. If they're gritty or have lots of beards (it'll look like bits of hair coming out from between their shells), scrub them well under cold water and pull out the beards by grabbing them and pulling towards the hinge-end of the mussels. (More on cleaning and debearding mussels here .) Farm-raised mussels are generally quite clean when they are sold.

  6. 6

    When examining, discard cracked mussels or open mussels that don&