This is a very versatile dish that cooks in minutes, you can make it with green or red curry paste if you prefer, it can be served as a main dish or as a starter. It also works well with either noodles or spaghetti. I used fresh mussels for this but if they're not available there is a good alternative with cooked mussels available from most supermarkets. Sometimes this can even be preferable if you don't have a good fishmonger with a supply of fresh mussels, certainly takes out the work of cleaning them as well. The canned tuna in the picture adds a wonderful taste and texture to the sauce.
Ingredients.
Around 700 g to I kilo mussels 1 small can of tuna 1 can of coconut milk A bunch of basil leaves, Thai if possible. (Waitrose stock them.) A couple of mild chillies and a lime 1 Packet of My Thai Curry green or red curry paste.
If you’re using fresh mussels then they first have to be cleaned by rubbing handfuls of them together in running water. Tap any mussels that are partly open and discard those that do not close tightly. Pull any straggly hairy “beards” from the mussels. Rinse again in cold water. If you are using cooked mussels then keep them in their container until ready to use. You don’t have to worry about these mussels being open because they have been cooked.
Put the tuna and the curry paste together in a bowl and mix together with a fork, don’t be tempted to use a food processor or chopper for this. I actually bashed mine about in a large mortar and pestle but if you don’t have one of these a bowl is perfectly fine.
Start by cooking your spaghetti or noodles because the rest of this will take less than 10 minutes.
Add the coconut milk to a large pan or wok if you have one and then add the tuna and curry paste mixture. As always, the quality of the coconut milk is paramount so if you're not familiar with what constitutes a good coconut milk I would suggest you start by reading this, Coconut Milk Summary.
Bring the contents of the pan to a simmer whilst stirring.
Add the mussels to the pan and heat through for no more than five minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the sweetness with some lime juice if required.
Add the remaining ingredients stirring just a little so as not to totally submerge all those colourful basil leaves and chili slices.
Serve with spaghetti or noodles.
Enjoy!
If you like this recipe please click the star rating or add a comment below! Kop Khun Kha, Nitsa.x
This is a very versatile dish that cooks in minutes, you can make it with green or red curry paste if you prefer, it can be served as a main dish or as a starter. It also works well with either noodles or spaghetti.
Put the tuna and the curry paste together in a bowl and mix with
a fork, don’t be tempted to use a food processor or chopper for this.
Start by cooking your spaghetti or noodles because the rest of
this will take less than 10 minutes.
Add coconut milk to a large pan or wok and then add the tuna and
curry paste mixture.
Bring the contents of the pan to the simmer whilst stirring.
Add the mussels to the pan and heat through for no more than
five minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the sweetness with some lime juice if
required.
Add the remaining ingredients stirring just a little So as not
to totally submerge all those colourful basil leaves and chili slices.
Serve with the spaghetti or noodles.
Recipe Note
The bags of cooked mussels available in supermarket chilled
cabinets work well with this and certainly cut down on the cleaning or
preparation time of the mussels. If the variety they have are cooked with white
wine or butter and garlic they will also work fine. I’m happy to cook with
fresh mussels but only when I can get them from a good fishmonger, and I know
they are fresh.
As always, the
quality of the coconut milk is paramount so if you’re not familiar with what constitutes
a good coconut milk I would suggest you start by reading this. Coconut milk
summary.
I firmly believe that Khao Soi should be ranked as one of the world's great dishes. You can call it a curry or you can call it a noodle soup and it is both of those with more on top, literally on top! A broth of aromatic curry paste and orange-tinged coconut milk with tender chicken falling apart for you, boiled noodles lurking underneath and becoming coated with fragrant oil as they break the surface. Crispy noodles on top you can manipulate and dunk into the sauce,
This is a totally delicious way to serve roast chicken as well as being very simple to prepare. Cooking a whole chicken this way is practised in various forms throughout Asia, sometimes pot roasted, sometimes over hot coals and with many different curry pastes. Often cooked in the home, rather than restaurants, which is probably the reason why many Westerners are not familiar with the dish. Well, now is the time to change that and I promise you that you won't regret it!
This is a dish that is incredibly easy and quick to prepare. If you have a bag of frozen seafood in the freezer and the whole dish can come together in the time it takes to cook the rice. Talking of rice, I find myself increasingly turning to black rice
I purchased the massaman curry sauce and cooked it with beef shin, using a good quality coconut milk. It was delicious! Quite an unusual sauce with flavours that I have never eaten before and also slightly sweet which I very much enjoyed especially with the slight kick of heat at the end. I will definitely be trying some more flavours. Thank you.
