Ming Tsai

Recipes

Directions

Heat vegetable oil in an 8 qt. stainless steel pot over medium heat.
Add ginger, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, chili and scallions and let cook 30 seconds-until fragrant.
Add beer and dashi and bring to a simmer. Add mussels and cover. Stir every twenty seconds to let mussels cook evenly. Cook until mussels open-about 90 seconds. Discard any un-opened mussels.
Add avocado and parsley and carefully stir together. Remove from heat. Sample dashi broth and season with sea salt and lemon. Divide mussels and broth into serving dishes and serve immediately.

*Dashi
Makes about 6 cups

1 large piece of kombu (about 5 by 6 inches or 12 by 2 inches, depending on the shape purchased)
6 cups water
1 cup dried bonito flakes

Clean the kombu by wiping it with a damp cloth. Place the kombu in a stockpot with 6 cups of cold water and heat over medium heat. Just as the water simmers, remove the pot from the heat. Watch carefully; you don’t want the water to boil or the dashi will become too strongly flavored. Allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes, remove the kombu, and return the pot to medium heat. When the broth once again nears the boiling point, remove the pot from the heat and add the bonito flakes. When the flakes sink to the bottom of the pot, strain the dashi through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer. Now you have dashi ready to be used.