Thai Red Curry Mussels

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Mussels are easy-to-make, inexpensive, elegant, and delicious…perfect party food! And best of all, there are so many different ways to enjoy them! These Thai Red Curry Mussels are steamed in an absolutely mouthwatering broth…you’re going to want some crusty bread on hand to sop up that delicious sauce!

I’ve been on a mussels kick since my trip to Scotland this past spring. I had the most delicious mussels at the Cafe Royal in Edinburgh. Prior to that trip, I hadn’t made them in years, and it reminded me how much I enjoy them! In addition to good food, we went castle hopping while we were there, so hopefully one of these days soon I can spend some time writing about about our trip to share it with you all! (Unfortunately my blogging time still continues to be really limited due to our purchase of a local gym.)

I meant to get this mussels recipe out months ago. I actually made these Thai Red Curry Mussels for the first time back when I created my Steamed Mussels with Cream Sauce and Leeks.

When you’re a food blogger, sometimes a recipe idea you think is going to work goes south and there is no dinner that night. Other times it goes the other way, and you have more food than you need.

That’s what happened to me when I was working on that Steamed Mussels with Cream Sauce and Leeks recipe for Father’s Day. The recipe I was trying out was a variation of something I’ve made numerous times before, so I was pretty sure it was going to work out, but I hate having to run out to the grocery store because I don’t have enough to start over, so I purchased extra mussels. But mussels are quite difficult to mess up…so I was left with extra mussels to play around with for a new recipe. This recipe went just as well…and I had three pounds of mussels for dinner!

Mussels recipes are good like that. You can play around with different variations and as long as you’ve got the base idea down, it usually works out…just as it did for me!

As an appetizer, you should plan about a half of a pound per person. When you’re serving mussels for dinner, a pound per person is a good rule of thumb to follow. But I had an entire dinner planned as well, so this was an appetizer for us. There were only 4 of us for dinner…my husband and I, and our two boys.  Because I had so much food, I also called my mother-in-law, and told her not to make dinner for herself. Believe it or not, we actually finished almost all of them, and both the Thai Red Curry Mussels and the Steamed Mussels with Cream Sauce and Leeks were a big hit!

HOW TO MAKE THAI RED CURRY MUSSELS

These Thai Red Curry Mussels would make a lovely appetizer at your upcoming Christmas or New Year’s holiday parties! Mussels are one of my favorite dishes for special occasions, because they’re so easy, yet elegant at the same time. They’re also very reasonably priced.

I could have also added lemongrass and ginger to this recipe, but I didn’t have either one on hand and honestly, these are quite delicious on their own. However, if you want to play around with the recipe, you could definitely add those. If you’re not a cilantro fan, feel free to substitute basil. Don’t skip the fish sauce though…it adds a wonderful dimension to the flavor! Fish sauce is easy to find these days in the Asian section of your grocery store.

Before you do anything else, start with cleaning. Place the mussels in a sink under running water and scrub them with a brush to remove any dirt and barnacles. The last thing you want is grit in your mussels! If the mussel has a “hairy beard,” pull that off by pulling towards the hinged end of the shell (not the front).

Discard any mussels that have already opened. Opened means they are dead. From a food safety standpoint, you want to be cooking live mussels.  Keep them on ice until you are ready to start cooking.

Heat the olive oil, then stir in the garlic and chopped onion and cook until softened.

Then add the clam juice, coconut milk, red curry paste and fish sauce and whisk it all together.

Now it’s time to add the mussels! Cover the pot and steam the mussels in the mixture for 6-10 minutes. The sauce is AMAZING! Just wait until you taste it!

Remove the pot from heat, and stir in the cilantro and juice from half a lime. Cut the other half of lime into wedges and serve with the mussels.

Don’t forget some crusty bread to mop up that delicious broth!

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Thai Red Curry Mussels…easy, elegant and mouthwatering good…perfect for special occasions or a romantic dinner! #Thai ” quote=”Thai Red Curry Mussels…easy, elegant and mouthwatering good…perfect for special occasions or a romantic dinner! #Thai “]

Love Thai food? Then you may also want to give these other recipes a try!

OTHER THAI RECIPES YOU MAY ENJOY

• Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
• Grilled Thai Coconut Lime Skirt Steak
• Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce

If you’re planning a special occasion party or get together, and are looking for a few more ideas, then you’re going to want to check out these fabulous recipes. They’re all on the elegant side…they’d work well for Father’s Day, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or even a romantic dinner!

FOR MORE DELICIOUS SPECIAL OCCASION APPETIZER RECIPES

• Crab Imperial Appetizer
• Marinated Olives with a Red Wine Vinaigrette
• Clam Canapés
• Mini Beef Wellingtons with Horseradish Cream

Time to start cooking!