Vietnamese-style Mussels with Basil

My mom taught me how to make Vietnamese-style mussels. Lien, I don't remember if you eat seafood, but I figure since you live in the Caribbean, you'd have access to lots of yummy, fresh seafood. This meal was very cheap for us...we bought the mussels frozen, and bought the basil from a Viet market...so the dinner came to $15 total and it fed five people. It was a bit too much though, because all we ate was rice and a ton mussels. We made a double-batch of the recipe for five people, but I think that one recipe could feed around 6 people if you have side dishes.

Vietnamese-style Mussels with Basil

2 pounds of mussels, frozen and in the half-shell
1 large bunch of Vietnamese basil (other types of basil would probably be fine)
1/2 head of garlic
3 chilies
3 tablespoons of oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of oyster sauce



1. Pluck leaves off the stems on your basil, then wash.

2. Give your frozen mussels a quick rinse. The instructions on the box said that you can cook mussels when they are still frozen.


3. Roughly chop your garlic and slice your chili thinly.


4. Heat your oil in a large wok. When the oil is hot, add your garlic.

5. Dump the mussels in all at once and immediately stir-fry for 1 minute. You have to be careful of any remaining water clashing with the hot oil. (I tried to take pictures of this step but they were all blurry and steamy).

6. Cover your wok with a lid and let your mussels cook for another minute.

7. Add your basil, chili, and oyster sauce. Stir-fry until the basil is wilted.


All done! Sorry, we were too busy eating to take a picture of the final result...