Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Curried Mussels



Finally! I was able to buy some fresh, nicely sized mussels! I was looking for fresh mussels last week when I wanted to try out an interesting French recipe. Since I was not able to find some mussels last week, I substituted with Pacific clams and the dish turned out very good! You may want to try the recipe here. It is truly highly recommended. :)

Of course my first impulse is to cook these mussels the way I cooked the Pacific clams. It was delicious! But that was just last week. I would not want to immediately repeat the same recipe on my dinner table and on this blog. :) So, I tried to make this curried mussels dish that I was able to taste (and hopefully recreate) from a restaurant.

Mussels are known to be "poor man's oysters." I am not surprised because mussels are indeed a lot, lot cheaper than oysters, and even cheaper than clams. But their meat is very tasty. I am not sure if I am simply biased, but I prefer the ones with the orange meat rather than the cream meat. Maybe I am simply attracted by the bright orange hue, that is why I "think" they are more delicious than the cream-colored meat. Later on, I learned that the orange meat are females and the cream colored ones are males. So, maybe the orange meat are indeed more tasty. Is it not that the female crabs are tastier than the male crabs as well?


1 kilo live mussels, shells brushed
5 slices fresh ginger
5 T minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
100 gms lean ground pork
3 -4 pcs jalapeno peppers or green peppers (siling haba)
1/2 C coconut milk
3 T curry powder
1 T sugar
salt and pepper to taste


1. Heat up some oil in a wok or cooking pan. Add in the ginger and saute until fragrant. Add in the onions and garlic. Saute until fragrant but not burnt. Add in the tomatoes. Let simmer for a while until softened.

2. Add in the ground pork. Let cook until meat changes color and is done, stirring once in a while.

3. Add in the mussels, coconut milk, curry powder, jalapeno peppers, and curry powder. Let boil and cook until mussels open. Stirring once in a while. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Discard mussels that did not open.


Even if mussels are not expensive, they are good food. They are quite tasty and delicious and they are full of good nutrition. They are low in fat and high in protein. They are also rich in omega 3 fatty acids. It is rich in iron, manganese, phosphorous, selenium, zinc and vitamins C and B12.



Sharing this curried mussels dish with Kitchen of Love Food event hosted by Chris of Mele Cotte. This event is featuring aphrodisiacs food and dishes as a way of celebrating this most romantic time of the year. Mussels, which are high in minerals such as zinc, and phosphorus are considered aprohodisiac food. Check out her blog in a few days to see the round-up of dishes we will serve our special someone on valentine's day.

22 comments:

KC said...

I love this dish. Your French recipe looks very good too.

Unknown said...

what a timely post... looks yum... advanced happy valentine's day to you... :)

JMom said...

Oh, I love mussels! Unfortunately, I can't find them fresh, just the frozen New Zealand types. I just love how curry and seafood go together :)

Noob Cook said...

You always cook dishes that I like ;p~ drool~~

NĂºria said...

Mussels are sooooooo good! I love them... any way... Still have to try with the curry flavour. Now I have the recipe ;D

Happy Valentine's day!!!

tigerfish said...

I prefer clams to mussels. Curried mussels? And I have not tried that before.

Chibog in Chief said...

this is my hubby's favorite, curried mussells :-) but here in france we enjoy mussels with french fries :-) weird no, i would rather eat this with rice!! yum

Jescel said...

i agree with you. I like the tahong with orange flesh. i think they're much sweeter.. and this curried mussels, yum! Never had this in curry, but tahong is my fave, so i'm sure i'd like it this way too :o)

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

I never knew about the female and the male tahong. Learn something new every day.

Here, mussels are more expensive than clams. Weird eh?

Anyways, I love the combination of mussels and curry. Yummy!

Ivy said...

Happy Valentine's Ning. The mussels sure are aphrodisiac and I love the curry ingredients.

Beachlover said...

look interesting!! I never try french curry mussel yet!

Anonymous said...

I don't have good impression on mussels just becoz all I tried in restaurants were overcooked. I should have to try to make on my own and say bye to those 'chewing gums'

Oggi said...

Didn't know the male/female but I agree, the orange ones are tastier.

Maggie said...

Great flavors in this dish! Mussels are always reasonably priced and much cleaner than a lot of other shellfish.

Jin Hooi said...

wow.. yum yum .. I love mussels !!! Never try curry mussels before ..hmm.. it's time to give it a go !! thanks for sharing

Soli Deo Gloria said...

Thanks KC!

Thanks Mikky! Belated Valentines' day to you! Hope you enjoyed it! :)

Hello JMom! The New Zealand mussels are great, too! They are bigger (and more expensive.)

Soli Deo Gloria said...

Thanks Noobcook! You have great recipes, too!

Hello Nuria! Hope you get to try the curried version some day!

Hi Tigerfish! Mussels have a different flavor from clams, but for this kitchen, both shellfish tastes great! :)

Soli Deo Gloria said...

Hi Dhanggit! Do you add wine to the curry? That is possible, no?

Hi Jescel! Curry added a new flavor and taste to the usual boiled mussels in ginger :)

Hello JS! Mussels are more expensive? Different locality, different produce...

Soli Deo Gloria said...

Hello Ivy! Belated happy valentines to you, too! I hope you enjoyed the day! :)

Hello Lesley! I hope you can try this version with curry. It is certainly different! :)

Hello Chumpman! We really cannot overcook mussels, or any shellfish for that matter. Just cook until the shells open. And dish up immediately. :)

Soli Deo Gloria said...

Hello Oggi! I didn't know about the male female either, until I googled about it :)

Thanks Maggie!

Hello Jin Hooi! I hope you get to try it! :)

Rumela said...

Thanks for the Curried Mussels recipe. Last summer I ate them at a party and has been looking for an authentic recipe ever since. Now I will be able to make them myself. Thanks again.

generic viagra said...

Excellent recipe, for weekend alone and wine, thanks for sharing.

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