This is my favorite time of year. The time of year when summer and fall start to mesh and you get great mussels from up North and you still have fantastic summer produce. This recipe comes straight from a little old Filipino lady that worked in one of my kitchens in Atlanta. It was part of our “family meal” every week, and eventually became part of a bar menu every late summer when the papayas were at their best. I know deep down she wanted to use the unripe green papayas she had back home, but mature papayas are good enough for us. This will hook up a pound of mussels:
- 1 lb mussels, cleaned and washed
- 2/3 c. coconut milk
- 2 tbs fish sauce
- 1 tbsp sweet rice vinegar or fruit vinegar (optional)
- 1 1/2 c. papaya medium dice
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp chopped lemongrass
- 1/2 c. rough chopped cilantro
- 1/4 c. rough chopped basil
- 1/4 c. rough chopped mint
- First up, we need to make our coconut base. Take 1/3 of the papaya, and puree it into the coconut milk. Set this off the the side for the time being.
- Start up your sesame oil on a medium high flame. Add you garlic, ginger, and lemongrass and sweat it out for just a little over a minute.
- Add half of your herbs and sweat for another minute.
- Add the vinegar and fish sauce. Let that go for just a minute, then add your mussels.
- Add your coconut milk mixture and cover the pot. Let these steam for about 8-10 minutes. Give them a good stir, then add the rest of the herbs and papaya.
Sweet and briney, just how I like ’em. Mussels are incredibly versatile and lend themselves so well to the flavors in this recipe. I’ll be putting up some more mussels recipe as the fall goes on. You got requests? Lemme know in the comments.
Happy Eating,
-The Doctor