Spicy Mussels

An Original Kabbie Recipe

I didn't like eating mussels because of how they look and feel, but one evening while grocery shopping I came across a bag of small shell-less mussels and decided to give mussels another try my way. The small mussels didn't look as intimidating and I knew if I fried them I would be able to look pass their weird appearance. Since I didn't eat mussels, I didn't know how to cook them. I thought long and hard and came up with the idea that everything spicy taste good, so spicy mussels it was. How I came up with the recipe, I don't really know. I just went with my gut feeling and hoped for the best. To my surprise, it came out delicious! I have two versions of this dish, one with tomato sauce and one with-out. This post is on the one with-out the tomato sauce. 

I don't use measurements when I cook unless I'm following a recipe. Since this is my first recipe I strongly urge you to taste before serving, in case you need to add more oyster sauce, soy sauce, or salt (you can also add more if you prefer to; that's the best thing about Hmong dishes!). With that being said, the spiciness can also be reduce by skipping out on some of the peppers or by using less peppers. I am extremely proud of this recipe because I created it out of curiosity and it's edible! I hope you find it just as yummy as I did and still do! (^_^)

Ingredients


       1lb shell-less mussels

       1 jalepeno pepper

       2 habanero peppers

       4 Thai peppers (Hmong peppers)

       2 garlic cloves

       2 green onion stalks

       2 tsp cooking oil

       1/8 tsp salt

       1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

       1/2 tbsp soy sauce

       1 spoonful of chili garlic in oil

       dry pepper flakes

Preparation: Wash/clean the mussels and set aside in colander to dry. Crush the 2 garlic cloves. Rinse and cut green onion stalks, jalapeno pepper, habanero peppers and Thai/Hmong peppers as pictured to the left.

You want your mussels to be as dry as possible, or else you're going to have liquid build-up in your pan while cooking and you do not want that. If you do have liquid build-up; strain the mussels and repeat frying instructions. If my mussels are not as dry as I want them to be by the time I'm ready to start cooking, I take 2 sheets of paper towel and press down on the mussels. Do it once then flip the mussels (the mussels on top is now on the bottom) and press down again. If the mussels are still pretty wet, repeat the drying method until the mussels are to the desire dryness.

Cooking: Heat 1 tsp oil in pan, when oil gets hot put in crushed garlic. When the garlic starts to turn golden or brown turn heat down to medium and put in 1 spoonful of chili garlic in oil paste. Stir chili and garlic together and let it sit for 10 secs. Turn heat back to high and add the mussels. Once mussels are cooked for 30 secs add 1/8 tsp of salt, stir and let it cook for 2 min while stirring every so often. Add 1 tbsp of oyster sauce and 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce, let it cook for another 2 min while stirring every so often (if mussels look dry, sprinkle a little cooking oil in the pan to keep them moist). Turn heat down to medium, add 1 tsp cooking oil, green onion, jalapeno, habanero and Thai/Hmong peppers; and add another 1/2 tbsp of oyster sauce, stir and let it cook for another 5-7mins or until the mussels are fully cook while stirring every so often. Once the mussels are cook, turn off heat and sprinkle dry pepper flakes, stir the mussels and pepper flakes. Congratulations, you are done! (as mentioned above, do taste and adjust sauces and salt to your liking)

  

(^_^)~ EnJoy ~ (^_^)