Thai Mussels

One of the best things about living on the Mornington Peninsula is the sea .. Another great thing about living on the peninsula is when your daddy knows a fisherman and gets you fresh seafood for free ..

The other day my dad came to my house with about 3 kilos of fresh mussels ..

Unfortunately in my house - besides my two cats and my dog, I am the only one who likes seafood.

I knew straight away what I was having for dinner that night, and fortunately for my dad, he got to take home a crapload of cooked mussels because there was no way I could eat 3 kilos worth to my self!

With the mussels, I put them in the sink with salted cold water (make sure you salt the water, otherwise the mussels will die)  I left them to soak for a while while I made up the mix that the mussels were going to steam in.

2 cups of white wine
1/2 stalk of lemongrass chopped finely
1/4 cup of fish sauce
Handful of chopped corriander
1 green chilli, chopped finely
1 red onion chopped finely
60g Butter
2 cloves of garlic, crushed


Once you have put the above ingredients in a large pot, start either scrubbing your mussels or pulling with your fingers their beards off ..

If any of them are open, give them a bit of a tap and if they close, they are alive, if they don't close - discard them. If you have any broken ones, also discard them.

Once beards have been taken off - throw them in the pot with the liquid - put a lid on the pot and on a very low heat steam the mussels for around 12 - 15 minutes .. Once they have opened, they are cooked, just be careful not to overcook them or they will taste rubbery!