Spicy Green Curry with Mussels & Squid
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Seafood, Asian
- Cuisine: Dinner
Description
Seafood Saturday! My husband and I were looking through photos and stumbled across some pics we took of seafood we cooked at home, and one of them was a mussel and squid dish. We could not remember this dish. We had no recipes lying around that called for mussels and squid. We weren’t even sure what sauce was with them. Zooming in we spotted what we thought must have been… lemongrass? ginger?? Well, the sauce looked green, and whether it was lemongrass or ginger, it had to be green curry. And so we had to have it!
Green curry is considered the spiciest of curries, so if your jar or can of green curry isn’t very hot, you need to get a new brand! It’s a stupid simple curry to throw together. With the foundations of green curry and coconut milk, you can play with the other ingredients you throw into the mix ~ lemongrass, fish sauce, brown sugar, kaffir leaves, basil or Thai basil… the list can go on. Now, basil versus Thai basil. I am not a fan of Thai basil because I don’t like the flavor of licorice in my food. Thai basil, anise, fennel… all things I personally do not cook with. But if you enjoy those flavors, more power to you. I personally cannot stand them 🤷🏻♀️.
Cooking squid can seem daunting because if you get it wrong, the squid will be hard and rubbery. The key to cooking squid is to either cook it hot and fast or low and slow. Anything in between gives you hard and rubbery squid. For this dish, it’s low and slow. So, yes, that means this meal takes a bit longer to cook, but that’s not hands on time. Once you get the curry sauce and squid on a simmer, you can walk away for the next 30 to 45 minutes. Go have an evening cocktail while you wait for the squid to tenderize.
I feel mussels can also seem daunting. They have a rough beard you need to remove. It’s also important to go through the bag of mussels to discard any that are broken or cracked. Also discard mussels that are already open more than a ¼” and that don’t close on their own when you tap them.
The trick my husband taught me for cleaning mussels and clams is to fill a large bowl or your sink with cold water and pepper. He says the pepper makes them “sneeze.” If you watch the water, you can see the air bubbles coming out of them. The point of this is to get them to release any grit they may still be trapped in the shell. Trust me, when you scoop the meat out of a shell, grit is not the texture you want.
Mussels cook super quickly, so you throw them on after the squid has tenderized. Remove them as soon as they open so they don’t overcook.
This curry is great with crusty bread. It’s even better if you put butter and garlic salt on bread slices and toast them!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
4 lbs mussels, cleaned and debearded
1 lb squid tubes, sliced into ½” pieces
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, slice
1 large shallot, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch ginger, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped ~ deseeded if desired
1 lemongrass stalk, smashed
1 lime, juiced
½ cup basil, roughly chopped
2 TB fish sauce
4 TBs green curry
2 TB brown sugar
1 can of coconut milk ~14 oz
1 TB olive oil
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Serve with crusty bread, if desired
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large wok or pan over medium heat. Once hot, swirl the oil to coat the pan. Add in the peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, or until just starting to get tender. Add in the lemongrass, shallots, ginger, garlic, and jalapeño. Cook for a minute or two, or until fragrant. Add the squid and sauté for a minute or two.
Add the fish sauce, green curry, coconut milk, and brown sugar, stirring to combine. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover with a lid. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the squid is tender.
Raise the heat to medium high. Add the mussels and cover with a lid. Give the pot a shake. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the mussels start to open, stirring occasionally. Remove the mussels from the pan as they open. Divide the mussels between four bowls. Add the lime juice and basil to the curry and stir. Spoon the squid and curry mixture over the mussels and serve with crusty bread.
Eat!
Keywords: Green Curry, Green Curry Seafood, Green Curry Mussels, Green Curry Squid
