[ ./recipes/sides/marinated-mussels-sambal-makrut.md ]
★ INDONESIAN · SIDES
Marinated Mussels with Indonesian Sambal & Makrut Lime.
SERVES
4
TOTAL
1475m
ACTIVE
35m
LVL
MEDIUM
// SUMMARY
Briefly steamed mussels sealed into a jar with a warm tamarind-sambal marinade and left in the fridge for a day. Somewhere between a conserva and a pickle — sweet, sour, smoky, with makrut lime running through it. Eat them cold, straight from the jar, with beer or an aperitif.
// INGREDIENTS
| 5 | tbsp | sushi vinegar, or seasoned rice vinegar |
| 1 | tbsp | Chardonnay vinegar, or white wine vinegar |
| 1 | tbsp | tamarind pulp |
| 1 | tbsp | water |
| 0.5 | tsp | coriander seeds |
| 2 | tbsp | sunflower oil |
| 0.5 | shallot, finely chopped | |
| 2 | tbsp | sambal manis (Indonesian sweet chilli condiment) |
| 2 | makrut lime leaves | |
| 3 | tbsp | olive oil |
| 500 | g | mussels |
| 0.25 | shallot, sliced into rings | |
| 1 | pinch | fleur de sel |
| 1 | sterilised sealable jar, can or container |
// METHOD
- 01
In a bowl, combine the sushi vinegar and the Chardonnay vinegar.
- 02
**Only 1 tbsp of this mixture goes into the marinade.** The rest keeps well and makes an excellent base for salad dressings — don't throw it away.
- 03
Put the tamarind pulp and 1 tbsp water in a small saucepan over medium heat and mix until smooth.
- 04
Take the pan off the heat and **strain the tamarind through a sieve** set over a bowl.
- 05
Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and toast the coriander seeds until they just start to smell fragrant.
- 06
Add the sunflower oil and sauté the shallot for a few minutes.
- 07
Add the strained tamarind liquid, the sambal manis and the makrut lime leaves and sauté a few minutes more.
- 08
Pour in the olive oil and **1 tbsp of the vinegar mixture** and keep cooking for another few minutes, until the marinade smells fragrant.
- 09
Take the pan off the heat.
- 10
Steam the mussels **briefly** — just until they open — and let them cool slightly in the cooking liquid they gave up.
- 11
Take them out of their shells.
- 12
Transfer the mussels to the sterilised jar along with the sambal marinade, **including the makrut lime leaves**, the shallot rings and the fleur de sel.
- 13
Make sure the mussels are **completely covered** by the marinade. Top up with a little more olive oil if they are not.
- 14
Seal and refrigerate for **24 hours** before eating.
// NOTES
- — Steam them briefly. These mussels are never cooked again, so anything past just-open turns rubbery in the jar.
- — Completely submerged is the rule — exposed mussels spoil. Press them down and add oil until the surface is covered.
- — Keeps about a week in the fridge, sealed. This is a short-term marinade, not a shelf-stable preserve: no proper canning process is involved, so it lives in the fridge.
- — Sambal manis is the sweet Indonesian chilli condiment, not sambal oelek. Oelek will work but is much hotter and less sweet — cut it to 1 tbsp and add a teaspoon of palm or brown sugar.
- — Tamarind pulp is the block or jarred paste, not concentrate. Strain it — the fibres and stones are unpleasant in a jar of mussels.
- — Leftover vinegar mixture: about 5 tbsp of sushi-and-Chardonnay vinegar. Keep it in the fridge for dressings.
- — Makrut lime leaves stay in the jar and keep perfuming the mussels. Fresh or frozen both work; dried ones give almost nothing.
// VARIATIONS
- → On toast: mash a few onto buttered sourdough with a little of the marinade.
- → In a salad: drain and toss through cucumber, shallot and herbs, using the marinade as the dressing.
- → Hotter: add a sliced bird's eye chilli to the jar.
// SOURCE
- Sergio Herman — Mussels, p. 98