Mussels are one of our favorite seafood dishes to make. They’re super easy, come together quickly, and made with the right sauce, packed with flavor. A popular one, and one of our favorites, is curry mussels. Most people make red curry mussels, which is delicious. But, I have an affinity for green curry in general. It’s the hotter of the curries, with yellow generally being the most mild.
Green curry mixed in with coconut milk lends itself beautifully to other Asian flavors like ginger and lemongrass, which allows you to create a very complex flavor profile very easily. I particularly like green curry because it is spicy. Most grocery stores carry Thai Kitchen curries, but I don’t like their green curry specifically because it really isn’t spicy at all… definitely no more spicy than their red curry. And green curry is supposed to be significantly spicier than red curry!
I now purchase my curry through Amazon and get Maesri. Occasionally, when I need a lot of ingredients from an Asian market, I’ll take a bit longer drive to the very large Asian market about an hour away, and they carry a nice selection of curry brands. But in lieu of this, Maesri through Amazon is well-priced and each curry is perfectly seasoned! That said, one tablespoon versus two tablespoons of green curry can take this from comfortably hot to cartoon mouth-on-fire hot! I recommend adding one tablespoon in at a time, stir, and taste before adding more.
Like other curry mussels, this dish is really best served with some crusty bread. For really, really delicious bread, slice a loaf of crusty bread and toast it with butter and some garlic salt. It makes for the perfect dipping bread!
This curry is made with peppers and onions, and while you may be busy shucking the mussels and popping them in your mouth, don’t forget to enjoy the peppers and onions! The curry sauce soaks into them and makes them perfectly flavorful with each bite.
One piece of advice. Find, not just a reputable seafood monger, but a place with a history of quality mussels. We have a fantastic fishmonger near us that we rely on for much of our seafood needs, but when it comes to mussels, we never buy from them. Why? Well, even though the size of the mussels looks comparable to other places, for some reason, the quality of the actual mussels is always lacking. They’re mushy and slimy and fall apart as you shuck them. If you’re like us who eat mussels as a full course, you want them substantial and filling!
For us, we now always get our mussels from Whole Foods. They’re the next closest reputable fishmonger and we have never had bad mussels from them. The added bonus is that Whole Foods cleans and debeards their mussels before putting them out for sale… saves time! And, for those not super familiar or comfortable yet with cooking mussels, having that step taken care of is super nice!
Unsure about cooking mussels? Don’t hesitate to DM me on Instagram, and I’ll answer any questions!
Enjoy!
Green Curry Lemongrass Mussels with Peppers & Onions
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Seafoods, Asian, Dinner, Appetizers
Ingredients
2 lbs mussels, cleaned & debearded (discard any mussels that are open and do not close after tapping)
2” ginger, finely minced
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 TBs lemongrass, finely minced
1 can lite coconut milk
2 TBs brown sugar
1 TB fish sauce
2 TBs green curry paste, or more to taste
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
handful cilantro, roughly chopped
handful basil, roughly chopped
1 lime
1 TB olive oil
salt & pepper
Instructions
In a large wok, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, carefully swirl to coat the bottom half to the wok. Add the peppers and onions. Lightly season with salt and cook, stirring often, until firm tender ~ about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, and lemongrass and cook for one minute, or until fragrant, stirring often.
Add In the coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, and green curry paste. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt & pepper, adding more green curry paste, if desired. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Add in the cilantro and basil and stir. Then, add in the mussels and stir to combine with the sauce. Cover and let steam, shaking the wok occasionally, until the mussels open. Discard any mussels that do not open after about 5 minutes. Squeeze lime juice over the top.
Divide among bowls or serve in one communal bowl, ladling the green curry sauce into bowls. Best served with crusty bread for dipping.
Keywords: mussels, green curry mussels, green curry, curry mussels, how to cook mussels, Asian mussels, Thai mussels
