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Do you love mussels as much as we do? Dinner really doesn’t get any easier than putting down a big pot of steaming, juicy, Amazing Red Curry Thai Mussels. Plus, you can still serve some crispy fries on the side and lots of bread for dipping. These can be served as a romantic dinner for two or as a feast with the family, your choice!

Whether they are done as a French recipe like Mussels and Pomme Frites or made as White Wine Garlic Mussels, we can’t get enough.

Amazing Red Curry Thai Mussels in a hammered pot with bread, and forks with cilantro at the top of the picture.

Helpful Items For This Recipe

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Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste, 35 oz

Mussel Pot

Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce

What is in Thai Mussels?

The ingredients for Thai curry mussels are pretty easy to find in any grocery store. I like to buy my Thai red curry paste online in a big tub as it lasts for a long time in the refrigerator. This recipe can be gluten-free but make sure the products you buy are that! Gluten can hide in items like fish sauce.

Ingredients

Fresh mussels, cleaned and debearded

Fresh lime juice

Coconut milk (don’t use the lite coconut milk)

Dry white wine

Thai red curry paste

Garlic

Asian fish sauce

White sugar

Cilantro

Green onion

Kosher salt

Cleaning a Mussel

Marine Mussel, vintage engraved illustration. Dictionary of Words and Things - Larive and Fleury - 1895

Mussels have a small “beard” attached to them that has to be removed. This is done easily with a small tug to debeard the mussels. This beard is what the mussel uses to attach themselves to rocks etc.

After your mussels have been debearded (not all of them will have a beard), then they need to be rinsed well in cold water. You can do this by soaking the mussels and then removing them from the water and rinsing them again. Don’t pour the water and mussels out of the bowl, as any sand that was in the water will then be poured back on top of the mussels.

Once this is done, the mussels can be stored back in the fridge for a couple of hours before cooking.

How to Make Thai Mussels

In a large stockpot, add the coconut milk, fresh lime juice, white wine, Thai red curry paste, minced garlic, fish sauce, and white sugar.

Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar and the curry paste are dissolved. Then bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.

Add the mussels, cover the pot, and continue to boil and steam the mussels for 5 – 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mussels are opened.

Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that did not open.

Horizontal of Thai mussels in a hammered pan.

You can carefully transfer the mussels and sauce into a large serving dish or spoon into individual serving bowls.

Sprinkle with a few pinches of finishing Kosher salt and generously sprinkle the chopped cilantro and green onion if using.

Serve with sliced baguette; enjoy!

Overhead of Red Curry Thai Mussels in a white bowl.

How Many Mussels Do You Need Per Person?

As a general rule, it is one pound of mussels per person. This could be served as an appetizer on its own or add other dishes as part of a meal. For this recipe, we have been generous and did 5 lbs. for a serving of 4 people, but we devour them easily.

Also, don’t forget that you may lose some mussels before and after cooking too. Hopefully, the fresher and better-quality mussels will have less wastage. Shop for them at a trusted seafood store.

As a rule of thumb, you should not eat any mussel that has been broken open or cracked. Also, all mussels should be closed before cooking. Give them a tap on the shell, and they will close if they are still good. This ensures that the mussel is still alive and safe to eat.

Additionally, after cooking, do not eat any mussels that have not opened properly. This is another safety check to make sure that they are safe to eat.

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