Steamed Mussels in Chinese Wine
Steamed Mussels in Chinese wine is a quick and easy dish to whip up at home. I bought 500 grams mussels at the supermarket for only S$1 during a quick sale when I made this recipe. Normally they will cost slightly over S$3 which is still inexpensive.
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The cooking method is really easy. Just stir fry aromatic shallots and ginger in a wok, then add the cleaned mussels and Chinese wine (Shaoxing or Hua Tiao) to steam until the shells are opened. This is so easy, that I almost never order mussels or shell fish when I eat out, as eateries usually charge a premium for seafood. It is best to buy the mussels from the fresh market and cook this dish immediately. Try it out!
First posted in Oct 2009, Updated in Jan 2015.
Steamed Mussels Recipe
If you cook with more mussels, increase cooking time by a few more minutes.
If you don’t have Chinese wine, you may substitute with non-fruity dry white wine or Japanese sake.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams mussels
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 3 chilli padi deseeded and sliced finely; to taste
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 slices ginger
- 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 cup water
- coriander roughly chopped or torn, to garnish
Directions:
- Prep the mussels. Scrub them with a hard bristles brush. Pull out the “beards”, if any. Discard shells which are broken or chip. Soak the mussels in salt water for 30 minutes for any sand or grit to be purged out. Rinse and drain the mussels.
- Stir-fry aromatics. Heat oil in wok. Add chilli, shallot, garlic and ginger. Stir-fry until fragrant.
- Steam mussels. Add cleaned mussels, Shaoxing wine and water. Stir to coat mussels evenly, cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes. Halfway through cooking, stir the mussels so that those on top gets to the bottom of the wok to ensure uniform cooking. Discard any shells that remain closed. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice.