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Photo of Spicy Korean mussels with pickled cucumber by WW

Spicy Korean mussels with pickled cucumber

2
Points®
Total Time
40 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
2
Difficulty
Easy
Mussels deliver essential nutrients to your body and are the star of this dish, perfectly complimented by spicy Korean flavours, fresh ginger and cucumber.

Ingredients

Garlic

3 clove(s)

Lebanese cucumber

1 medium, halved lengthways, thinly sliced

Fresh ginger

1 tsp, finely grated

Rice wine vinegar

20 ml, (1tbs)

Chilli paste

1½ tsp, Korean

Olive oil

2 tsp

Brown onion

½ medium, finely chopped

Mussels

240 g, (Buy 1 kg) clean, rinse (see tips)

Fresh coriander

¼ cup(s), coarsley chopped

Instructions

  1. Crush 1 garlic clove. Thinly slice remaining garlic and set aside. Combine cucumber, ginger, crushed garlic, vinegar and 1 teaspoon chilli paste in a medium bowl. Season with salt and toss to coat. Cover and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, sliced garlic and remaining chilli paste, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add mussels and 1/4 cup (60ml) water and stir to combine. Increase heat to high. Cook, covered, shaking pan occasionally, for 2–3 minutes or until mussels have opened.
  3. Stir in coriander. Serve mussels with pickled cucumber.

Notes

SERVING SUGGESTION: Steamed Asian greens, such as bok choy or gai lan, plus brown rice. TIPS: Even if mussels have been cleaned, there may be leftover beards (furry bits around the edge). To remove beards, hold mussels under running water and use your fingers to pull beards off towards the hinge end of the shell. Before cooking, discard any open shells that do not clamp shut when gently squeezed (let them warm up slightly first) or have an unpleasant odour. Contrary to popular belief, mussels that do not open when cooked but still smell okay are still fine to eat. Korean chilli paste is a spicy condiment made from red chillies, glutinous rice, fermented soy beans and salt. Find it in the Asian food aisle or specialty Asian grocery stores. If unavailable you can use sambal oelek, although the flavour will be a little different.