Coconut Milk + Lemongrass Steamed Mussels

Have lots of crusty bread on hand. You will want to DRINK this broth afterwards.

And for the millionth time, I apologize for my crappy iphone camera. It tastes so much better than it looks… And mussels are really f*ck up free. Promise. Just try it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lb fresh mussels (in a pinch, frozen half shells work too)
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 1 stalk lemongrass, cut in 4 two inch pieces and smashed with flat of knife.
• 1 tbs tumeric (mostly for color)
• 1 tsp red chili pepper flakes
• 2 slices of fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 0.5 – 1 cup white wine
• 2 small cans of coconut milk
• juice of 1 lime

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, rinse mussels in cold water. Clean and cut off fuzzy green bits (beards). Let it soak and rinse ~20 min.
2. In a 3 qt pot, saute shallots until soft ~3 min. Add garlic and continue to saute 2 min. Add tumeric, chili pepper flakes, lemongrass, ginger. Salt generously. Stir and saute another 3 min.
3. Add wine and let it reduce by half. Add coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover for 10 min.
4. Add mussels and COVER. Steam 3-5 minutes or so, until all the mussels open. Don’t check on it repeatedly as this releases the steam.
5. Remove from heat and pour into large bowl. Squeeze on lime juice and top with fresh chopped scallions or cilantro as garnish.