No photos, I’m afraid, because with mussels time is of the essence and carryover cooking waits for no woman. This is one dish you want to get onto the table the instant it’s ready. Don’t start heating your wok (or other large shallow pan with a lid) until the rice is already done and is just sitting there steaming gently, in other words.
All quantities are approximate. I made this for two people, although to be sure it would serve at least four who were less hungry, less greedy about mussels, or eating other dishes alongside this one. We were in the mood to wallow in bivalves, and since they were on a very good offer at the market today, we did so. Quite happily too. I find mussels very restorative, especially when cooked with lots of garlic. This is an excellent dish to make at the end of a day that has left you feeling a little dented. It is vigorous in its flavors but light in its effect on the constitution.
A note about cooking vessels: Ideally you’d cook this in a great big wok over a really fierce flame. Few Western stoves will crank out the heat you need to do something like this in a wok, though. (You could do a half-pound of mussels at a go, probably, but not two pounds.) I used a 14-inch diameter braising pan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid. A large heavy saute pan with a lid (improvise one with a cookie sheet if you have to) would do well, too.
A note about mussels: Buy mussels the same day you plan to cook them. If you can, choose only mussels that are shut tight or that shut themselves with alacrity when you tap their shells. It is possible that you’ll be compelled to buy your mussels by the pre-filled mesh bagful, in which case inspect them as closely as you can before choosing your bag(s). Have your fishmonger pack them in a plastic bag with plenty of ice for the trip home, and keep them on/covered in ice until you’re ready to work with them. (Yes, even if you put them in the refrigerator. Ice.)
Prep all your other ingredients and do your mise en place before you prepare the mussels.
When you go to prepare the mussels, put them in a large bowl and rinse them several times in the coldest water possible to dislodge grit. Then fill the bowl with cold water and agitate the mussels a bit with your hands. If any float to the top, discard them — they are either dead and decomposing or empty. Also discard any with broken shells. Slightly open shells are not necessarily a problem, but do discard any that refuse to stay closed when you pinch them shut. (They’re dead. And possibly brewing toxic bacteria you don’t wanna eat. So out they go.) Clean them by pulling off any bits of “beard” (the hairy-looking stuff that sometimes clings to the shells) and giving the shells a brief but stern brushing with a stiff brush. I use the same nylon-bristled brush I use on my root veg. Works great. Rinse them off and put ‘em in a bowl and heat that pan, baby, you’re ready to rock and roll.
Black Bean Mussels
2 pounds fresh mussels in their shells, prepared as above
1/2 pound garlic chives, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6-8 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
3 Tablespoons fermented black beans, soaked for 15 minutes in warm water, drained, and mashed to a pulp with the back of a spoon
1-2 teaspoons ground chiles in oil (or to taste)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine or sherry
1 cup very hot water
1 generous teaspoon fish sauce (nam pla)
4 Tablespoons cornstarch (or tapioca starch) mixed with 1/3 cup cold water
Canola or peanut oil
1. Combine mashed fermented black beans, chiles in oil, sugar, and soy sauce, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
2. Heat your cooking vessel over a high heat until very very hot. Pour in enough oil to lightly coat the inside of the wok or pot, and leave a minimal slick in the bottom. Heat oil until shimmering but not smoking.
3. Add black bean mixture, scallions, and garlic, and stir briskly until fragrant. Add mussels and toss to coat.
4. Pour in wine or sherry and water and slam on the lid. Let cook 2-3 minutes, or until about half of the mussels shells open up. Remove lid and stir (use a large slotted spoon) so that the mussels that are not yet open get closer to the bottom of the pot where the heat is. Add the fish sauce. Cover again for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Remove lid and add garlic chives. Stir to combine. While stirring check to be sure all the mussels have opened and are looking opaque and set, but at least some of them should not be fully firmed up yet and the flesh of many of them should still be pale. Toss once more and remove the mussels to a waiting serving dish (or 2), but do not turn off heat. Carryover heat will finish cooking the mussels while you finish the sauce.
6. With a spoon or whisk, stir the remaining liquid in the pan or wok briskly as you slowly drizzle in cornstarch/water mixture. Keep adding cornstarch mixture slowly and stirring vigorously until it thickens to the texture of heavy cream. You may or may not need to use all of the cornstarch/water mixture, it will depend on how much liquid is left in your pan.
7. Pour the sauce over the mussels and serve at once.
Each diner should serve zirself by spooning some of the mussels and sauce on top of the rice in zir partially-filled rice bowl. The rice is there to catch the sauce. Pluck the meat out of the mussel shells with your chopsticks or a small fork, then pick up the shell with your chopsticks and, since you are at home and may be as greedy as you like, suck the sauce and chives off the shell. (It’s delicious.) Once all the mussels have been devoured, have your sauce-soaked rice for dessert.
Incidentally, if you do not favor chiles, or want less garlic, or what-have-you, do as you please. There are as many ways to prepare black bean mussels as there are cooks who make the dish. This is roughly how I did it tonight, but you should feel encouraged to make the dish your own.
