Thai Style Steamed Mussels
Ingredients
500 g/1 lb mussels
125 g/4 oz white fish fillets
125 g/4 oz raw prawns
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh coriander
1/4 teaspoon finely grated kaffir lime rind
or lemon rind
1 tablespoon finely chopped spring onions (scallions)
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
1 egg white
Directions
Scrub mussels and beard them as described above, discarding any which are not tightly closed. Steam in a pan with very little water until they open. Discard any that do not open. Remove the top shells and discard.
Finely chop the fish and prawns, either by hand or in a food processor. Crush the garlic with the sugar and combine with all the other ingredients. Mix into the fish, and cover each mussel with a teaspoon of the mixture, moulding it over the mussel. If liked, top each with a slice or two of red chilli. Steam over boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until the fish and prawn paste is cooked. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)