Gok’s Chinese mussels with black bean sauce
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Ingredients
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
2 sticks of celery, finely sliced at an angle
3 spring onions, finely sliced into rounds
1.5kg mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
75ml Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
2 tbsp black beans, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Method
Heat the groundnut oil in a wok or saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over a medium heat. When hot, add the garlic, celery and spring onions. Stir-fry these vegetables for 1-2 minutes until they are soft and beginning to colour.
Increase the heat to maximum and add the mussels, stirring so they are coated with the rest of the ingredients. Once they are combined, pour in the Shaoxing rice wine and immediately cover the wok with a lid.
Leave the mussels to cook for 4-5 minutes. Mussels are cooked when they have opened to reveal the coral-coloured flesh on the inside. Do not eat any that remain closed. As soon as the mussels are opened, tip the entire contents of the wok into a sieve set over a bowl, shaking they mixture to make sure all the liquid has drained through.
Place the wok back on the heat over a low flame, then pour the sieved liquid back into the wok and bring back to the boil. Once it’s bubbling, add the black beans, oyster and soy sauce. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes to reduce the mixture by a quarter.
Put the mussels back in the wok, along with all the other ingredients gathered in the sieve. Heat through and serve immediately.
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