Australian Blue Mussels in Creamy Tom Yum Sauce (冬陰公忌廉汁煮澳洲藍青口)

My hubby struggled for some time this afternoon if we should dine-out to give me a break or grab a pack of his favorite live blue mussels and cook at home. Finally, the mussels won and I had to cook ^_^ Actually I like to have dinner at home on weekends and holidays to avoid the crowd, so why not!

We always have bread with mussels because the sauce is the essense and is so good to have bread to absorb all flavors and mop the pot clean. I was so glad that we still had some homebaked foccacia which saved me a lot of work and I decided to make a twist tonight!!!

Ingredients:

• Australian live blue mussels, 1 kg
• Coriander root, cleaned and bashed, few
• Lemongrass, bashed, few
• Kaffir lime leaves, 2-3
• Shallot, 2 cloves, sliced
• Tom Yum Paste, as desired
• Heavy cream, as desired

Method:

1. Rinse the mussels briefly, remove any beard.
2. In a pot of hot water, blanch the mussels for a few seconds until each opened a slit, remove immediately and drain. Keep the clam juice for cooking. I do not want my sauce to be too savory and by blanching slightly, the shells will open and drain away excess brine while will not overcook the mussels. If you do not mind the saltiness, skip this step. 
3. Heat a pot, drizzle with little oil and add the shallots, lemongrass, coriander roots and kaffir lime leaves. Saute for a few minutes to release the aroma. 
4. Add the tom yum paste and give a good stir. Add some of the clam juice and heat to a boil. Add heavy cream and heat to a boil. Add more of the clam juice or cream to adjust the consistency of the sauce to your liking.
5. Pour in the mussels, cover the lid and allow to cook until the shells opened. Discard any unopened mussels. Serve immediately with bread or steamed rice.

I served mine with homebaked foccacia and mesclun with a homemade dressing in Thai style. The following was the ingredients I used to make the Thai style dressing for my salad: 

• Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Thai sweet and sour chili sauce
• Thai fish sauce

Adjust the proportion to make your unique dressing. If you need a kick, add some crushed chili.