Mussels in Black Bean Sauce

Name: Mussels in Black Bean Sauce
Yield: Serves 4–8 with 2–4 Other Dishes
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 30 ml (2 tbsp) sesame oil; 10–15 ml (2–3 tsp) thick or dark soy sauce; 1 yellow or red pepper, about 115 g (4 oz), topped, deseeded and cut into wedges; 30 ml (2 tbsp) Shaoxing wine or medium dry sherry; 15 ml (1 tbsp) tapioca or potato flour dissolved in 30 ml (2 tbsp) water; 90 ml (6 tbsp) peanut or vegetable oil; 10 ml (2 tsp) sugar; 75 ml (5 tbsp) fermented black beans, rinsed; 2 kilos (4½ lb) mussels; 2 fresh green or red chillies, topped, deseeded then roughly chopped (optional); 15–20 ml (3–4 tsp) finely chopped garlic; 10 ml (2 tsp) finely chopped ginger; 1 green pepper, about 115 g (4 oz), topped, deseeded and cut into wedges

Preparation info

Serves
4–8
with 2–4 Other Dishes

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Classic Food of China

By Yan-Kit So

Published 1992

About

The versatile black bean sauce is the perfect foil for these molluscs: it brings out their inherent sweetness and adds a tangy zest to their flavour. But for the effort needed in cleaning their muddy shells, one would enjoy this cheap and tasty dish during the season every day, or at least every other day.

Ingredients

2 kilos (4½ lb) mussels
75 ml (5

Asia
China
Fish course
Pescatarian

Method

One by one, wash and scrub the mussels in 3–4 changes of water until they are thoroughly clean. Pull off the ‘beards’ between the shells of each mussel and knock off any barnacles. Discard those that are broken. Put into a colander and drain.
Put the black beans into a bowl and add the sugar. Mash with a spoon until the beans become pasty.
Heat a wok ove