Posted on 12th Jul 2025

Thai-style Mussels

Creamy, spicy and fragrant, these mussels are perfect for sharing.

Cuisine

Thai

Time

25 mins

Servings

3 people people

Ingredients

1kg fresh mussels, cleaned under running cold water 4-5 times
bashed lemongrass stalk
Handful of Thai sweet basil leaves

THE PASTE

2 garlic cloves
Thumb sized piece of galangal, or ginger
1 lemongrass stalk
2 fresh lime leaves, roughly chopped
4 Thai shallots (swapsies; 1 banana shallots / small onion) peeled, chopped

THE SAUCE

300ml coconut milk
1 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime

Method

PREPARATION

• Clean your mussels under cold water and remove any debris on the shell with a scrubbing brush. Discard any that have already opened.

• Finely chop all ‘The Paste’ ingredients and then pound them in a pestle and mortar until a smooth paste is formed. You may also do this in a food processor with a small amount of water to help form a smooth paste.

COOKING

• Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok to a medium heat and start to stir fry ‘the paste’ for 3-5 minutes until it starts to smell aromatic but loses its rawness.

• Now add the mussels and continue to stir fry for 1-2 minutes until they start to open up a little.

• Pour in the coconut milk and bring to the boil and cover with a lid.

• Season with the palm sugar and fish sauce and allow to boil for a further minute.

• Remove from the heat and then squeeze the lime juice in and add a generous handful of fresh coriander and Thai sweet basil in just before serving.