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Mussels in Coconut Broth

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Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 30 minutes

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 (or more) fresh or dried green or red chiles
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 12 ounces thin brown rice noodles or whole wheat angel hair
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk (reduced-fat is fine)
  • 4 ounces daikon, peeled and chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 carrot, cut into coins
  • 3 pounds mussels, preferably wild, well scrubbed
  • 2 scallions, sliced
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Put 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until they puff and begin to soften, about 1 minute. Add the chiles, lemongrass, lime juice, salt, and pepper to the pot along with 2 cups water. Cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as necessary so the mixture bubbles steadily, 3 to 5 minutes.
  2. When the kettle comes to a boil, put the noodles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit, stirring once or twice with a fork, until the noodles are tender but not mushy, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
  3. Add the coconut milk to the pot along with the daikon, bell pepper, and carrot; stir and return the liquid to a bubble. Carefully put the mussels on top of the vegetables, sprinkle with the scallions, turn the heat up to high, and cover the pot. Cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until all (or nearly all) of the shells open, 5 to 10 minutes. (Discard any that do not open.)
  4. Divide the noodles among shallow bowls. Ladle the mussels, vegetables, and broth over the rice noodles, fishing out the lemongrass stalks as you see them. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.

—Recipe from The VB6 Cookbook

Recipe variations

Mussels, Corn, and Noodles in Coconut Broth Unreal with fresh corn on the cob, but when it isn’t in season, 2 cups frozen kernels is a fine substitute. Skip the daikon. Husk 2 ears of corn and cut the cobs crosswise into coins about 1 inch wide. Toss them into the pot with the coconut milk and other vegetables in Step 3.

Mussels, Vegetables, and Pasta in Tomato Broth You can take this in a completely different direction by swapping a few key ingredients. Substitute olive oil for the vegetable oil, another tablespoon of minced garlic for the ginger, 4 bay leaves for the lemongrass, 2 cups chopped tomatoes instead of the water, and chopped fresh basil instead of the cilantro. For the vegetables, try 1 bunch chopped escarole and use angel hair (whole wheat is nice) instead of the rice noodles.