MMMMMMussels

Cindy Fuller said:

SO and I wanted to make another stab at recreating the clams in black
bean sauce served at one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle's
International District. As we were moseying by the test kitchen of our
local Central Market, I saw a book called "Potsticker Chronicles", by
Stuart Chang Berman. For grins, we looked inside and found a recipe for
mussels in black bean sauce with a variation for clams. SO put the book
in the cart. When we got over to the fish counter, we saw a sign that
clams were unavailable due to spawning season. [*&^%$#@! horny
bivalves.] However, the mussels were available. Hooboy, was that
recipe tasty! I think we have a keeper.

We love mussels! Don't s'pose you could share the recipe, or give me one
"in your own words" 😉

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

In article <[email hidden]>,

ChattyCathy said:

Cindy Fuller said:

SO and I wanted to make another stab at recreating the clams in black
bean sauce served at one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle's
International District. As we were moseying by the test kitchen of our
local Central Market, I saw a book called "Potsticker Chronicles", by
Stuart Chang Berman. For grins, we looked inside and found a recipe for
mussels in black bean sauce with a variation for clams. SO put the book
in the cart. When we got over to the fish counter, we saw a sign that
clams were unavailable due to spawning season. [*&^%$#@! horny
bivalves.] However, the mussels were available. Hooboy, was that
recipe tasty! I think we have a keeper.

We love mussels! Don't s'pose you could share the recipe, or give me one
"in your own words" 😉

I'll paraphrase it. Take about 2 lb (1 kg) mussels. Scrub and debeard
them. Discard any "yawners". Soak 2 tbsp. fermented dried black beans
in some water to desalt them. Rinse, drain, and mash. Stir 2 tbsp. dry
sherry, 2 tbsp. mushroom soy sauce, 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp.
Asian (dark) sesame oil, 6 cloves garlic, minced, and about 1 tbsp.
fresh ginger, minced. Set this aside. Heat a little oil in a wok. Add
mussels; stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add a little water; cover and steam
until mussels open all the way. Take the black bean mixture and toss it
with the mussels until heated through. (The original recipe didn't call
for a thickener, but SO added some cornstarch-water paste to thicken it.)

The novel items in the recipe, based on our experience, are the mushroom
soy sauce and vinegar.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

Cindy's infamous SO is here to add a couple of minor details and
corrections. Since I did most of the cooking on this one, she might
have missed or forgotten some things...

Quoted message said:

I'll paraphrase it. Take about 2 lb (1 kg) mussels. Scrub and debeard
them. Discard any "yawners". Soak 2 tbsp. fermented dried black beans
in some water to desalt them.

I mashed the beans with a mortar and pestle and then added 2 tbsp. of
boiling water, let them soak for a few minutes, until softened. Then I
drained off most of the water and mashed them again.

Note that salted and fermented black beans are not the same as the dried
black beans used in American and Hispanic cooking. You can find them in
most Chinese groceries or in large supermarkets that carry ethnic items.

Quoted message said:

Rinse, drain, and mash. Stir 2 tbsp. dry
sherry, 2 tbsp. mushroom soy sauce, 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp.
Asian (dark) sesame oil, 6 cloves garlic, minced, and about 1 tbsp.
fresh ginger, minced. Set this aside.

It was 1 tbsp. dry sherry. And there was also 2 tsp. sugar.

I mixed the above ingredients into the beans, and mashed it again to get
it reasonably smooth.

Quoted message said:

Heat a little oil in a wok. Add
mussels; stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add a little water; cover and steam
until mussels open all the way.

The recipe does not call for adding water. In fact, the mussels will
lose a lot of their own water during the frying and steaming. I had to
drain off some excess water to keep the sauce from getting diluted too
much.

Quoted message said:

Take the black bean mixture and toss it
with the mussels until heated through. (The original recipe didn't call
for a thickener, but SO added some cornstarch-water paste to thicken it.)

The recipe also calls for tossing in 4 sliced scallions, just before
serving. We served the mussels over steamed rice.

Quoted message said:

The novel items in the recipe, based on our experience, are the mushroom
soy sauce and vinegar.

We've tried several other recipes for black bean sauce. Another
difference from those other versions is that this one calls for thorough
mashing of the beans. The mashing allows more of the salt to be rinsed
out of the beans, and the sauce has a smoother texture. The other
recipes produced sauces that were gritty/lumpy and the saltiness
dominated all the other flavors. This one had a nice balance of salty,
sweet, and savory flavors.

The book calls for 1 lb of mussels, for serving 2 to 3 people. But we
usually buy 2 lbs, to allow for the dead ones that get tossed. The
recipe can also be used with clams (which is how it is more commonly
seen in Chinese restaurants).

Really good stuff. If you get to Seattle, try the clams in black bean
sauce at Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant, in the International District.
That's the version that inspired our quest to duplicate this dish at
home.

--
Julian Vrieslander

Julian Vrieslander said:

Cindy's infamous SO is here to add a couple of minor details and
corrections. Since I did most of the cooking on this one, she might
have missed or forgotten some things...

Quoted message said:

I'll paraphrase it. Take about 2 lb (1 kg) mussels. Scrub and debeard
them. Discard any "yawners". Soak 2 tbsp. fermented dried black beans
in some water to desalt them.

I mashed the beans with a mortar and pestle and then added 2 tbsp. of
boiling water, let them soak for a few minutes, until softened. Then I
drained off most of the water and mashed them again.

Note that salted and fermented black beans are not the same as the dried
black beans used in American and Hispanic cooking. You can find them in
most Chinese groceries or in large supermarkets that carry ethnic items.

Quoted message said:

Rinse, drain, and mash. Stir 2 tbsp. dry
sherry, 2 tbsp. mushroom soy sauce, 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp.
Asian (dark) sesame oil, 6 cloves garlic, minced, and about 1 tbsp.
fresh ginger, minced. Set this aside.

It was 1 tbsp. dry sherry. And there was also 2 tsp. sugar.

I mixed the above ingredients into the beans, and mashed it again to get
it reasonably smooth.

Quoted message said:

Heat a little oil in a wok. Add
mussels; stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add a little water; cover and steam
until mussels open all the way.

The recipe does not call for adding water. In fact, the mussels will
lose a lot of their own water during the frying and steaming. I had to
drain off some excess water to keep the sauce from getting diluted too
much.

Quoted message said:

Take the black bean mixture and toss it
with the mussels until heated through. (The original recipe didn't call
for a thickener, but SO added some cornstarch-water paste to thicken it.)

The recipe also calls for tossing in 4 sliced scallions, just before
serving. We served the mussels over steamed rice.

Quoted message said:

The novel items in the recipe, based on our experience, are the mushroom
soy sauce and vinegar.

We've tried several other recipes for black bean sauce. Another
difference from those other versions is that this one calls for thorough
mashing of the beans. The mashing allows more of the salt to be rinsed
out of the beans, and the sauce has a smoother texture. The other
recipes produced sauces that were gritty/lumpy and the saltiness
dominated all the other flavors. This one had a nice balance of salty,
sweet, and savory flavors.

The book calls for 1 lb of mussels, for serving 2 to 3 people. But we
usually buy 2 lbs, to allow for the dead ones that get tossed. The
recipe can also be used with clams (which is how it is more commonly
seen in Chinese restaurants).

Really good stuff. If you get to Seattle, try the clams in black bean
sauce at Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant, in the International District.
That's the version that inspired our quest to duplicate this dish at
home.

This sounds really good, but... I think served over a big bowl of
oriental noodle will do more justice to this dish than rice.

Julian Vrieslander wrote:

<snipped for brevity>

Quoted message said:

Really good stuff. If you get to Seattle, try the clams in black bean
sauce at Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant, in the International District.
That's the version that inspired our quest to duplicate this dish at
home.

Thanks so much, you two. This sounds like a "must try".
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

This sounds really good, but... I think served over a big bowl of
oriental noodle will do more justice to this dish than rice.

That would work just fine. Cindy often uses noodles when she's vamping
on Chinese recipes. I tend to prefer rice.

--
Julian Vrieslander

In article <[email hidden]>,
Sheldon <[email hidden]> wrote:

The SO's missive snipped

Quoted message said:

This sounds really good, but... I think served over a big bowl of
oriental noodle will do more justice to this dish than rice.

I'm with you there, Sheldon. I might use yakisoba noodles, or maybe
rice noodles.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me