Mai & Maxime

One of our culinary goals for 2021 is to make more fusion recipes. Here is our first French-Vietnamese fusion recipe of 2021, and we had a blast making it!

Moules marinières (which translates to “Sailor mussels”) is a popular and simple dish of mussels in a white wine sauce that Maxime would enjoy when visiting his family in Bretagne. The classic flavors come from shallots, butter, parsley, and white wine.

We made our own fusion version by adding ginger, lemongrass, and lime leaves- ingredients that are quintessential to Vietnamese seafood recipes.

Though they originated in two different continents, these flavors blended together in incredible harmony. The sweetness of the French shallot and wine are balanced beautifully by the warm sharpness of the Vietnamese ginger and lemongrass.

You can serve these delicious mussels with some crusty toasted bread (French-style) or with fries (Belgian-style moules frites).

INGREDIENTS FOR FRENCH-VIETNAMESE MOULES MARINIÈRES

• Mussels – Moules – Chem Chép
• Lemongrass – Citronelle – Sả
• Ginger – Gingembre – Gừng
• Lime leaves – feuilles de citron vert – Lá chanh
• White wine – Vin blanc – Rượu vang trắng
• Butter – Beurre – Bơ
• Shallot – Échalote – Hành khô/hành tím
• Garlic – Ail – Tỏi
• All purpose flour – Farine de blé tous usage – Bột mì đa dụng
• Bouillon – Hạt nêm: think broth, but in solid form. Bouillon is an amazingly easy way to bring that umami flavor to your food. We use it instead of salt in many of our dishes. You can usually find chicken, pork, or mushroom bouillon. In Vietnam, Knorr is the most common brand. However, we have only been able to find Knorr in powder form in the US and France, not granules. Instead, we use Totole brand chicken or mushroom bouillon. The quantities on our website are based on the granule-type so if you use powder, adjust to your taste.
• Parsley – Persil – Rau mùi tây

DIRECTIONS FOR FRENCH-VIETNAMESE MOULES MARINIÈRES

1. Soak mussels in salt water (+ sliced chilies if you have some) for at least 30 minutes- preferably an hour so that they release any sand/dirt. Rinse well.
2. Cut off the hard stem of the lemongrass and peel off the tough outer 1-2 layers. Cut into 2 inch lengths. Crush with the flat side or back of your knife or a hammer to release the fragrance.
3. Rinse and slice ginger into 1/2 cm thick slices.
4. Finely dice shallot.
5. Peel and thinly slice garlic into 2mm thick slices.
6. Roughly chop parsley (use only the leafy part).
7. Add mussels to a large pot with the white wine, lime leaves, ginger, and lemongrass over medium heat. Cover and cook just until the mussels open.
8. Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and set aside.
9. Strain the cooking liquid into a bowl through a sieve and set aside.
10. Wipe the pot clean if needed and melt butter in the same pot on medium.
11. Add shallots and garlic, and sauté until fragrant.
12. Add bouillon and flour. Stir to combine well.
13. Pour cooking liquid back into the pot and simmer on medium low for 5 minutes.
14. Add mussels back in the pot and stir well.
15. Cover and continue to simmer for 2 minutes.
16. Remove from heat and add in parsley. Mix to combine.
17. Pour mussels into a bowl and serve with toasted bread or fries!

RECIPE VIDEO

French-Vietnamese Moules marinières • Mussels in white wine sauce

Course: Main, AppetizersCuisine: French, Vietnamese, FusionDifficulty: Easy

Makes

2

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Adding some Vietnamese flairs to classic French mussel dish with lemongrass, ginger, and lime leaves- ingredients that are commonly used in Vietnamese seafood dishes.

Ingredients

• 1 kg 1 mussels

• 1 stalk 1 lemongrass

• 20 g 20 ginger

• 5 5 lime leaves

• 1 cup 1 white wine

• 1 tbsp 1 butter

• 50 g 50 shallot

• 20 g 20 garlic

• 1 tsp 1 all purpose flour

• 1 tbsp 1 bouillon

• 1/4 cup 1/4 parsley

• Bread or fries

Directions

• Soak mussels in salt water (+ sliced chilies if you have some) for at least 30 minutes- preferably an hour so that they release any sand/dirt. Rinse well.
• Cut off the hard stem of the lemongrass and peel off the tough outer 1-2 layers. Cut into 2 inch lengths. Crush with the flat side or back of your knife or a hammer to release the fragrance.
• Rinse and slice ginger into 1/2 cm thick slices.
• Finely dice shallot.
• Peel and thinly slice garlic into 2mm thick slices.
• Roughly chop parsley (use only the leafy part).
• Add mussels to a large pot with the white wine, lime leaves, ginger, and lemongrass over medium heat. Cover and cook just until the mussels open.
• Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Strain the cooking liquid into a bowl through a sieve and set aside.
• Wipe the pot clean if needed and melt butter in the same pot on medium.
• Add shallots and garlic, and sauté until fragrant.
• Add bouillon and flour. Stir to combine well.
• Pour cooking liquid back into the pot and simmer on medium low for 5 minutes.
• Add mussels back in the pot and stir well.
• Cover and continue to simmer for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add in parsley. Mix to combine.
• Pour mussels into a bowl and serve with toasted bread or fries!

Recipe Video

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