Steamed Mussels in Lemongrass Coconut Curry

Earlier this week, we ordered some live lobsters from Get Maine Lobster. We ordered the Maine Lobster Dinner that came with four live lobsters, four pounds of mussels and four huge crab cakes!!

Now, if you live in Hawaii, there's a bit of a hurdle. Don't be discouraged, it's not that bad! You need to apply for an import permit from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. The application can be found here. (see note) The form is pretty self explanatory and it took about a week for the permit to come. The permit costs $20 for a one time shipment or $100 for unlimited shipments. Once you get the permit, fax or send a copy to Get Maine Lobster so that they can tape it on the box. That way, there's no delay for your shipment.

I highly recommend getting lobsters from Get Maine Lobster. Mark from Get Maine Lobster was absolutely wonderful!!! He was so helpful through this whole permit issue and really went out of his way to make sure we got the lobsters!! We ordered live lobsters from others before the whole permit issue, and they weren't nearly as good as Get Maine Lobster. We also bought live lobsters locally, but it's just not the same. These were incredibly fresh and the lobster meat was so sweet!!!!

The first night, we had the lobsters...no fancy recipe, we just steamed it and served it with drawn butter (clarified butter). The lobsters were soo fresh and tasty, you really don't need anything else.

The next night, we had the mussels. I was trying to decide what to do with the mussels when I came across this recipe from Kacey's Kitchen.

OH MY GOD!!! This was soooooo good!! Honestly, I have never had mussels so fresh. It didn't have that chewiness that you normally get with mussels and there was no trace of fishiness as well. And the broth..SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!! I'm drooling just thinking about it. YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS!!! I know I say that all the time, but this time it's in caps. I really mean it!! The picture doesn't do it justice, it really was amazing!! Here's the recipe.

Steamed Mussels in Lemongrass Coconut Curry
adapted from Steamy Kitchen via Kacey's Kitchen

2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and picked through
4 stalks of lemongrass, white part grated (see note)
2 (8 oz) bottles of clam juice
1/2 cup of white wine
1 can (14oz) of coconut milk
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of Thai curry paste (depends on your spice level)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3 small skeins of mung bean noodles, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes.
chopped scallions, cilantro, and chili for topping

1. Fry the curry paste: In a wok or large pot, turn heat to medium. When wok is hot but not smoking, add 1/4 cup of curry paste and the lemongrass. Fry for 30 seconds to release its flavors.

2. Add the clam juice, wine, fish sauce, sugar and coconut milk. Simmer for 3 minutes. If you are using lemon peel, discard lemon peel. Taste the broth. If you want more heat, add more curry paste. In meantime, drain your mung bean noodles. The noodles should still be a little stiff.

3. Turn heat to high and add your mussels. Immediately cover with tight fitting lid. Steam on high for 4 minutes. Open lid, scootch the mussels to one side, add mung bean noodles and cook for another minute uncovered. Use a large spoon to redistribute the mussels from the top to the bottom of the broth, cook another 30 seconds and it's done! Top with chopped chilies and scallions.

Notes:

• *The scientific name for lobster is Homarus Americanus
• *The original recipe uses 1 stalk of lemongrass, but I wanted a bit more lemongrass flavor