Mussels with Thai Seasonings

From EatingWell: The Simple Art of EatingWell

Thai curry pastes are a busy cook’s best friend—they provide loads of flavor in a single ingredient. Here the spicy green version is used to flavor steamed mussels. Serve over rice noodles.

Makes: 4 servings

Active Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Nutrition Profile

Low calorie | Low carbohydrate | Low cholesterol | Diabetes appropriate |

View Our Nutrition Guidelines »

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
14-ounce can “lite” coconut milk
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons Thai green curry paste, or to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce or 1/4 teaspoon salt
4 pounds mussels, cleaned (see Tip)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil and/or cilantro for garnish

Preparation

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, until just starting to brown, about 1 minute.
Add coconut milk, lime juice, curry paste, brown sugar and fish sauce (or salt); bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in mussels. Cover and cook just until the mussels have opened, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat (discard any unopened mussels). Stir in basil (and/or cilantro), if using. Serve with the sauce from the pan.

Tips & Notes

Tip: When shopping for mussels, look for ones that are closed—or those open only a fraction of an inch. When you get them home, store them in a large bowl with a few damp paper towels on top for up to 1 day. To clean them, discard mussels with broken shells or whose shell remains open after you tap it. Hold mussels under running water and use a stiff brush to remove any barnacles; pull off any black fibrous “beards”. (Some mussels may not have a beard.) Mussels should be “debearded” no more than 30 minutes before cooking.

Nutrition

Per serving: 238 calories; 13 g fat ( 6 g sat , 3 g mono ); 35 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 17 g protein; 0 g fiber; 601 mg sodium; 187 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Iron (24% daily value), Vitamin C (18% dv)

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

Exchanges: 1/2 carbohydrate (other), 2 lean meat, 2 fat

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