My husband cooks very good. He owns skills learning how to cook from a man-made oven and he owns the craft passionately. I have always known that you can tell if a chef is good when they talk about the quality of their ingredients and the relationship of spices to one another. And, how the source of the taste, whether it’s the meat, poultry and seafood’s freshness play a great role in bringing forth the best of a dish.

As I visited New Zealand with my family, my husband was bragging about how its green mussels are to die for. And he didn’t disappoint at all. He simply cooked it with boiling water, no spices, opened a big one for me and bam! The sweet juice instantly gave out an aroma that escaped from the green lipped mussels and captured not my heart, but the more important tactile sense!

I’ve eaten so many kinds of mussels and usually, (I know a lot of you might agree on this.) the big ones kind of exude a taste of paper. Bland, dry, and it’s so big, it could bring out a gag reflex. Not because it’s too big but it’s just…. tasteless! Probably, because I live in Hong Kong and most of their big mussels come in frozen packs. But let me tell you, the green lipped mussels of New Zealand? You must include ’em in your bucket list. It’s to die for!

New Zealand owns one of the biggest coastlines in the world according to 10mosttoday.com. This gives them fresh seafoods upon demand. Though the country is known for its kiwi fruit and generates a good amount of income from it, the green mussels of New Zealand lead the list of the most sought after among its tourists.

I researched on a list of recipes that could feature the large, juicy bivalve mollusc even if its delicious being boiled to cook alone. With an aim to be an expert on cooking one of these, I would want to impress my husband with this variety too in the future.

I added some of my own too and I hope it works for you. Enjoy!

The recipes that would come with no measurements are mine. When I cook, I don’t use them because I rely greatly to my own tactile preference. I am including them still because the people who I presented it to found it delicious. And I want to pass on the experience.

• SEAFOOD PASTA

This recipe is home-made, generous by serving and is very rich in cheese. In short, is it sinful! It’s my very own and I cooked this for one of the many shared dinners within our Polynesian family here in Hong Kong. Here are the ingredients:

1 whole pack of spaghetti pasta

1/2 lb. of green mussels, Squid, Prawn, Shellfish

Parmesan Cheese, Cheddar Cheese

Tomato Paste

Salt, Pepper

Garlic, Onion, Ginger, Tomatoes

Olive oil, butter

I cooked the pasta al dente first, had set it aside; mixed the tomato paste into 100 ml of hot water, had set it aside as well; then I gave full attention to cooking my sauce. After all, it’s in its richness where a good pasta dish could be acknowledged.

Melt the butter into the olive oil (so as not to burn the butter). Sautée the garlic and onion next in medium heat. Allow it to caramelise, then add the remaining ingredients altogether. Garnished it with a pinch of shredded ginger to neutralise that strong fishy taste and to add up to the aroma of the dish. Stir it carefully, slowly, so that the full-on spiced olive oil with butter would coat the entire seafood and for the spices’ to blend with the mussel flavour.

When the mussels and the prawns turn a bit orange, it means they’re getting cooked. Don’t overdo them. Take advantage of the “bit of orange transformation” by pouring in the tomato paste mixed with water into the pot. Let it simmer a bit in low heat. When it comes to a full boil, mix in more of the tomato paste, neutralise with water until you reach the right amount and thickness for your pasta. Season your sauce and when it comes to a full boil, stir it for the last time. Around this time, the seafood turns bright orange. Stir the dish as you garnish it with the 2 kinds of cheese you have and voilà! Your seafood pasta is complete!

• LIME COCONUT CURRY MUSSELS

Three things I love that is in here: Green Mussels, lime and coconut milk! The curry is a bonus. But to those who aren’t a fan of curry, you can also emit it from the list of the ingredients. Click here to get hold of the complete run down along with the step by step procedure.

• BROILED MUSSELS WITH GARLICKY HERB BUTTER

  I love garlic, I love butter and I love green mussels. They’re easy to prepare, fast to cook and they’re all meat, no bones, no peeling. You get a mouthful of satisfaction at a cheap price and it involves using your hands that makes eating oh so fantastic! Here’s a recipe brought by NYT Cooking which was originally done in cooking snails. Click on this link for the full instructions in preparing this food from the gods!

• BEER STEAMED MUSSELS

All good chefs know the power of liquor over food. Magically, when the right amount is put into any grilled, steamed or sautéed steak or seafood, it transforms under heat into a sweet flavourful juice that seeps into the meat succumbing it with a taste that will make you forget your name. This recipe may steal Pringles slogan: “Once You Pop, You Can’t Stop!”. Check the right measurement not to end up having bitter steamed mussels by clicking here.

• SEAFOOD PAELLA

  This is one of the slow cooking recipes that proves there’s glorious results when you decide to be patient. A Spanish cuisine that was embraced by the Filipinos as well, Seafood Paella, is a mix of culture, class and spices. Rich in aroma, irresistible flavours and a dash of comfort as this always reminds me of a slow Sunday where aunts gossip, men laugh a lot over serveza and the cousins cheering and playing in the garden, a typical colonial setup. It’s a dish that you always miss.

  

  This recipe is for those who love spicy food brought to you by hipfoodiemom.com. Enjoy a shot of margarita as you wait for this dish to be ready. I tell you, it’s worth it. Click here for the full post about its recipe.

• SPANISH MUSSEL TAPAS

You would want to decorate your table with an attractive tray of tapas but you don’t want it to be the typical “we-know-what-will-be-on-your-table-kind” so you choose green mussels for an instant “WOW” from your guests’ faces. So, think about this!

Easy to prepare, cheap and not much washing up to do afterwards. They’ll eat a serving, enjoy and get rid of the shell as soon as possible. Click here for a wonderful and colourful guide by Tony Tahhan himself as he walks you into enticing your guests as you cook these fabulous green mussels up to placing it on the table with full presentation with a simple garnish.

• GINATAANG TAHONG (TAGALOG)/GREEN MUSSELS IN COCONUT MILK

Panlasang Pinoy had always been my go-to website when I miss specific Filipino viands. It makes home-cooking easy, fast and affordable. This next recipe gives out a sweet milky soup base that’s compared with no other. Filipinos love soup and mixed with green water cabbage, the green mussels offer one of Philippines’ best. Philippine green mussels are sweet but they are far from being as big as New Zealand’s. Whichever of these two sources you’d choose though, the secret is, they have to be fresh. Remove the bad ones because one bad mussel could affect the entire soup. Click here for the recipe.

• CHEESY BAKED MUSSELS

When I talk about cheese on mussels, a great memory of Boracay’s D’Talipapa pops in my mind! It was there that I tasted my first cheesy baked mussels and ever since, in every restaurant that offers mussels, I always check out this particular dish. For the record, none of any Hong Kong famous restaurants offer it. If they do, it’s just full of cheese but missing that charcoal burnt zest that D’Talipapa got. To those food and travel bloggers, you should give that place a visit then write about your one-of-a-kind experience. Foxyfolksy.com is a website of a Filipina that lives in Germany and finds solitude in cooking. Follow her recipe and you’ll never get wrong.

• MUSSELS IN WHITE WINE GARLIC-BUTTER SAUCE

Now, the last but not the least, this recipe I had to look for it on my own. Upon tasting Bricklane’s White wine Garlic-Butter Sauce over New Zealand’s own green lipped mussels, paired with garlic bread, I vowed that I’d make this at home. I love white wine, and I understand that when you’re in doubt when cooking, put butter. Ha! So white wine, garlic and butter put altogether surely would make wonders. And it did.

So, I’ve just revealed my 9 sources of green mussels recipes. If you have another one in mind, let me know by leaving your comment below. Enjoy!

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