My Thai Steamed Mussels are a fun and new way to cook mussels! I’m no Mark Zuckerberg, but I’m proud to say I killed my own meat today. Yep, I sent some bivalves to their death and the process was quick, easy, and delicious!
Mussels are inexpensive, tasty, and sustainable so follow the jump to see how I made them!
Time to make Thai Steamed Mussels!
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dry white wine (I used Chablis)
- ¼ cup minced shallots
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon Madras curry
- 2 pounds mussels, cleaned & debearded
- 2 tablespoons of Kerrygold butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
I started out with a bag of super-fresh mussels from my seafood CSA, Siren SeaSa. I kept them on ice in the back of my fridge covered with a wet paper towel until I was ready to cook them.
I rinsed off the mussels…
and yanked off the beards.
Then, I minced the garlic and shallots…
…and dumped them in a 6-quart dutch oven with the wine, bay leaf, and curry powder. I brought the liquid to a boil and lowered the heat to low and simmered the broth for about 3 minutes.
Next, I increased the heat to high, dumped in the mussels and gave everything a stir before covering it and letting everything steam for 2 minutes.
After the initial two minutes of steaming, I stirred the mussels again and steamed them for 2-3 minutes more. (The mussels are finished cooking when the shells open.)
I used a slotted spoon to remove the steamed mussels to a large serving bowl and covered them with foil.
To finish off the sauce, I whisked the butter into the broth…
…and stirred in the chopped herbs.
I tasted the broth for seasoning but I didn’t need to add any salt or pepper.
I poured the broth over the mussels…
…and we dug in!
Super simple and versatile! Feel free to play with the aromatics, liquid, and seasoning!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Thai Steamed Mussels

Ingredients
- 1 cup dry white wine I used Chablis
- 1/4 cup shallots minced
- 4 medium garlic cloves minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon Madras curry powder
- 2 pound mussels cleaned and debearded
- 2 tablespoon butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Rinse off the mussels and yank off the beards.
- Mince the garlic and shallots and dump them in a 6 quart dutch oven with the wine, bay leaf, and curry powder.
- Bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat to low once it's reached a boil and simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Increase the heat to high and dump in the mussels.
- Give everything a stir then cover and let everything steam for 2 minutes.
- Stir everything again and steam for 2-3 minutes more. The mussels are finished cooking when the shells open.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the mussels and place in a large serving bowl. Cover with foil.
- To finish the sauce, whisk in the butter or ghee into the broth and stir in the chopped herbs.
- Taste the broth for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Pour the broth over the mussels and dig in!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.