Steamed Mussels, 清蒸蚌

"Just finish them, mussels don't make you full" - Aunt Kim

When we started this blog, the goal was just to capture the daily foods we ate as a kid, so that we can share them with our own families. Growing up in a coastal city, our parents ate a lot of seafood, including simple steamed dishes like this one.

Ingredients

• mussels

• garlic

• scallions

• ginger

• salt

Begin by washing the mussels. Since we eat them from the shell, we want to get rid of the dirt and grime off the shells.

It helps to soak them in saltwater (1 tsp salt) overnight at room temperature (~60 deg F). Aunt Kim says that this tricks the mussels into puking up their sand from their internal valves. If you don’t do this, there’s a risk of chewing sand when you eat them.

Inspect each mussel and rip off the byssus (the thin black strands). This is done as a courtesy to your guests, since you can’t eat them anyway.

Heat up a wok with oil, salt, and whole crushed garlic cloves. Make sure to crush the garlic beforehand to release the flavors, but take care not to burn the garlic. Then add sliced ginger and scallions.

Add the mussels

Stir fry the mussels for 60 seconds

Afterwards add a small bowl of water, just enough to steam the mussels, but not boil them.

Cover the wok and let the mussels steam until they open up.

You can try a mussel to test if it’s done. Depending on preference, you may like them more raw or well done. I tend to like it more on the raw side, especially if you do this recipe with clams.