Oriental-style Mussels

Do you like mussels? At home we love them, so I make them very often and, although we like them prepared any way, I am always on the lookout for new recipes. This one I bring you today of oriental-style mussels is one of our latest discoveries. What a discovery!

It strays a little from the more typical ways of preparing steamed mussels, but I'm sure that if you like Oriental-style food, this recipe will fascinate you because of the incredible touch given by the ginger, soy sauce, or cilantro.

Not to mention the slightly spicy kick given by the chiles, which of course you can omit if you don't like heat, but which in my opinion round out the dish. In any case you can always reduce the amount of chile so it's not too spicy… Or increase it, if you're brave!

You can accompany these mussels with a little rice or pasta to have a complete dish, or serve them as a snack to share at a summer dinner. That said, in that case watch out… they might all be gone!

Cocotte ronde Evolution Le Creuset, Microplane Zester grater, Le Creuset ceramic ramekins, Pallarès carbon steel knife and Nezumi ceramic plate by Tokyo Design Studio

Ingredients

• 2 Kg mussels
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 long fresh red chiles
• A piece of fresh ginger about 5cm approximately
• 2 spring onions
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 50ml soy sauce
• 80ml white wine
• 60ml lime juice
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• Fresh cilantro
• 1 lime cut into wedges

Preparation

1. We start by cleaning the mussels. For this we wash them under a stream of cold water, removing the beards and cleaning the shells of any dirt they may have. We must discard mussels with broken shells.
2. In a bowl or ramekin we mix the soy sauce, white wine, lime juice and sugar and set aside.
3. Using a sharp knife we cut the chile and the spring onion into thin slices. Set aside.
4. We peel the ginger and grate it (the Microplane grater is perfect for this). Set aside.
5. In a mortar we crush the garlic and set aside.
6. Next we heat the Le Creuset casserole with the tablespoon of sesame oil over medium-low heat and sauté the garlic, chile, spring onion and ginger until they begin to release their aroma
7. At that moment we add to the casserole the mixture we had set aside of soy, wine, and lime juice, raise the heat, and bring it to a boil.
8. Once it begins to boil we add the mussels, cover with the lid and let cook about 4 or 5 minutes, until we see the mussels have opened.
9. We remove the mussels that have not opened.
10. We sprinkle the mussels with cilantro and serve accompanied by the lime wedges.

Cocotte ronde Evolution Le Creuset, Le Creuset ceramic ramekins, Microplane Zester grater and Pallarès carbon steel knife

Notes

• Some soy sauces are saltier than others, so it is better to taste it first and, if your soy sauce is very salty, you can dilute it a little with water before adding.