Thai-Style Mussels with Lemongrass

• 1 lemon
• 2 large stalks lemongrass
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon galangal, finely chopped
• 1/2 green bird's eye or serrano chile, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 kaffir lime leaf
• fine sea salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil, such as grapeseed
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons scallions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons shallot, minced
• 2 teaspoons Thai red chili, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds sustainably-sourced mussels, de-bearded and scrubbed
• 2 cups thai basil leaves, thinly sliced
• cilantro sprigs, to garnish

1. Zest half of a lemon.
2. Juice the lemon to yield 1 tablespoon of juice.
3. Set the zest and juice aside.
4. Remove the outer leaves from the lemongrass until you get to the softer, fleshier, pale yellow part.
5. Trim 2 inches/5 cm from the base of the stalk, then thinly slice the remaining stalk about two-thirds of the way from the base to the tip, or until the stalk becomes woody and is no longer pale.
6. Set the sliced lemongrass aside and discard the rest.
7. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine coconut milk, galangal and birds eye chile and bring to a simmer.
8. Remove from the heat and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, lemongrass and Kaffir lime leaf.
9. Set aside for 30 minutes, then strain through a fine mesh strainer.
10. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
11. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil.
12. Add the garlic, ginger, scallion and shallot to cook, stirring occasionally until fragrant, about 1 minute.
13. Stir in the red chile.
14. Add the mussels and coconut milk mixture and sprinkle half of the basil, salt, and pepper.
15. Cover and cook until the mussels have opened, 2 to 3 minutes.
16. Stir the mussels and transfer to plates or a platter.
17. Sprinkle the remaining basil, garnish with cilantro sprigs, and serve.

lemon, stalks lemongrass, coconut milk, galangal, green bird, lime leaf, salt, freshly ground pepper, oil, garlic, ginger, scallions, shallot, red chili, mussels, thai basil, cilantro sprigs

Taken from www.foodrepublic.com/recipes/thai-style-mussels-with-lemongrass-recipe/ (may not work)