Most steamed mussel preparations contain parsley, garlic, and white wine, with the occasional addition of tomatoes and herbs. There are, however, other directions to take with no additional effort. Generally, there are two easy changes to make: First, use distinctive Asian seasonings like ginger, soy, or curry powder. And second, omit the cooking liquid. By relying only on the mussels’ natural juices, you can add fewer seasonings (and less of each) and still produce a flavorful sauce that is less watery than most. I always serve Asian-style mussels with a bowl of rice on the side.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
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.
Step 2
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.
Step 3
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
Step 4
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.
Step 5
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.
Step 6
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
Step 7
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.
