[ ./recipes/mains/mussels-chili-singapore.md ]
★ SINGAPOREAN · MAINS
Mussels, Chilli Singapore-Style.
SERVES
2
TOTAL
80m
ACTIVE
30m
LVL
MEDIUM
// SUMMARY
Singapore chilli crab logic applied to mussels — the author first ate it made with ray at a food court in the middle of the night. Shallot, garlic and a lot of ginger sweated down, tomato and chilli sauce in, then a long reduction with chicken stock and mussel cooking liquid until the sauce is thick. Whisked egg stirred in at the end thickens it further and gives it that ribboned texture.
// INGREDIENTS
| 3 | tbsp | olive oil |
| 3 | shallots, finely chopped | |
| 5 | garlic cloves, minced | |
| 30 | g | fresh ginger, peeled and minced |
| 100 | g | canned peeled tomatoes |
| 4 | tbsp | hot sweet chilli sauce |
| 1 | red chilli pepper, finely chopped, or 1 tbsp sambal manis | |
| 450 | ml | chicken stock |
| 250 | ml | mussel cooking liquid |
| 500 | g | mussels |
| 1 | egg | |
| 2 | tbsp | coriander, finely chopped |
| 1 | green onion, sliced into thin ribbons and dropped into ice water to curl |
// METHOD
- 01
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sweat the shallot, garlic and ginger for a few minutes without letting them brown.
- 02
Add the tomatoes, chilli sauce and the chopped chilli or sambal and cook 2 minutes more.
- 03
Deglaze with the chicken stock and the mussel cooking liquid.
- 04
Reduce for 30–40 minutes, until you have a properly thick sauce. This is the whole dish — don't cut it short.
- 05
Put the egg in a large bowl and whisk until light and well combined.
- 06
Cook the mussels open in a covered pan over high heat, then remove the top half of the shells.
- 07
Add the mussels to the sauce and cook 1 minute, stirring the whole time. Take the pan off the heat.
- 08
Stir the whisked egg and the coriander into the sauce so the egg cooks in the residual heat and thickens it, adding flavour and texture.
- 09
Spoon into a warm serving dish and finish with the curled green onions.
// NOTES
- — The 30–40 minute reduction is not padding. The sauce has to be thick enough to cling to the shells, and it is the only step that gets it there.
- — The egg goes in off the heat. Residual heat sets it into fine ribbons; direct heat scrambles it into lumps. Stir continuously as it goes in.
- — Curling the green onions: slice as thinly as you can lengthways and drop into ice water for a few minutes — they curl on their own.
- — Sauce can be made entirely ahead and reheated. Only the mussels and the egg happen at the last minute, which makes this a good dish to cook for people.
- — Half shells on is deliberate — the mussels stay recognisable and the sauce collects in the shells.
- — Heat level: hot sweet chilli sauce plus a fresh chilli is medium-hot. The sambal option is hotter and sweeter.
// VARIATIONS
- → The original: made with ray wing, as the author first ate it. Firm white fish works the same way.
- → Richer: a knob of butter stirred in at the very end, after the egg.
- → With noodles: spoon over rice noodles and it becomes a one-bowl dish.
// SOURCE
- Sergio Herman — Mussels