Quick, easy and deliciously full of South East Asian flavours! Perfect with bread or rice.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Some years ago, a friend of mine asked if I could come up with a South East Asian style tapas dish for a charity event he was holding. As I was due to fly out to Israel first thing the next morning, I had to keep it really, really quick and easy – and Kupang Masak Lemak was the result! I gave it a Malay name, just for the fun of it!
I have since made these mussels many, many times, it’s very light yet packs a full flavour profile. Some crusty bread on the side to mop up all that lovely sauce is a must! But if you fancy rice, that’ll be just as perfect!
The spices used are your standard South East Asian. If you have trouble getting the galangal, lemongrass or lime leaves, leave them out, you will still get a wonderful dish. Click on the aromatics above to read more about them.
Malay Language Lesson:
Kupang – Mussels
Masak – Cook
Lemak – Cream, ie the coconut milk
Let’s get our aprons on!
If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!
And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood.
Lin xx
Kupang Masak Lemak (Mussels in light Coconut Milk)
Ingredients
- 1 kg mussels scrubbed and cleaned
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small onion sliced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 fresh chilli
- 2.5 cm ginger
- 1 stalk lemongrass bruised
- 1 cm galangal
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- juice of half a lime
- 3 fresh kaffir lime leaves optional
- small handful fresh coriander finely chopped
Instructions
- Clean your mussels by scrubbing the shells.1 kg mussels
- Pound or finely chop the garlic, chilli, ginger and galangal.1 clove garlic, 1 fresh chilli, 2.5 cm ginger, 1 cm galangal
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Add the onion slices, the lemongrass & the pounded ingredients, stirring and cooking for a minute, you’ll get a lovely aroma at this stage.1 small onion, 1 stalk lemongrass
- Pour the coconut milk in, add the soy sauce and lime leaves too. Stir it all in.200 ml coconut milk, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 3 fresh kaffir lime leaves
- Add the mussels in, give them a very quick stir, cover & leave to steam on the same heat for about 3-4 minutes, giving it a shake or two during this time. At the end of the 3-4 minutes, they will be done.
- Tip everything onto a warm serving platter, squeeze the lime juice all over, scatter with the fresh coriander and serve immediately.juice of half a lime, small handful fresh coriander
I love mussels because they’re versatile. You can cook them with any kind of sauce and they’re still going to taste amazing. This recipe looks delightful! Easy too!
That’s pretty yummy! We just usually cooked mussels (tahong) in ginger soup at home, although coconut milk is most used condiments in cooking here.
Ooh this looks great. I’d love to surprise my family with some flavorful mussels. I think this would be perfect.
This is a recipe my family would really enjoy. I’m going to print it out and give it a try. It looks and sounds amazingly delicious.
This sounds amazing! I’ve only had muscles once and had a horrible allergic reaction.
The food looks so good! I’ll definitely try making one with this recipe:)
Coconut milk makes everything taste better! This sounds like a fresh and plentiful dish that my friends would love!
Seafoods are something I really wanted to eat! I’m really craving. Maybe I can do this at home. Bookmarked this recipe.
OMG I need to make this! It sounds so amazing, I love all seaford and like to try different recipes whenever I travel. I will be making this at ome and giving it a go
I love to eat seafood but not that great at cooking it. Thanks for the recipe.