Thai-spiced Steamed Mussels

This recipe is nearly identical to the Mussels with Coriander Cream, Thai Style in Olive 101 Quick Fix Dishes, which is why I will cross-post my review here:

Mussels are always delicious, and I would probably find it hard not to award a 5 star rating to any mussel-dish that keeps it simple. This one is no exception. With coconut cream, fresh coriander and a hint of green curry, it's a welcome change to our usual dish of mussels in white wine.

I was careful with the green curry paste as I didn't want the sharpness to overpower the taste of the mussels, but that wasn't the case; using one teaspoon shouldn't be any problem. Also, we used coconut cream instead of coconut milk, which was a good move, but not enough, for my taste; I would have liked to have a thick sauce not unlike garlic sauce or mayonnaise for dipping. It might be worth it to either try to make an additional sauce based on coconut cream, or to add less white wine and use coconut milk for cooking instead.

You can serve this as a main for two persons, or as an appetizer for up to 6, I guess (the book suggests it is a main dish for 6, but that's humbug).

Thai-spiced Steamed Mussels uses red curry paste instead of green one, chicken stock instead of white wine, and spring onions instead of a red onions (we used normal onions anyway). Additionally, it uses a red chilli, less garlic (2 instead of 4 garlic cloves) and more coconut milk (400ml instead of 142ml). I suspect that these differences won’t make any difference, except for the quantity of coconut milk, which I suspect will be far too much “ we probably used no more than 300ml liquid in total for Mussels with Coriander Cream, and even that was a bit too much in my opinion. Using a total of 700ml liquid you’ll end up cooking your mussels, not steaming them. Another slight difference is that you add the garlic and spring onions at the end of the cooking process, without frying them. This is probably a question of personal preference, but I love the taste of roasted onions.

Recipe originally published in Economy Gastronomy by Allegra McEvedy & Paul Merrett. Don’t buy this book, this dish is anything but economic (app. 6 Euros per serving; serves 2, not 4, see review above).