The more traditional version of this dish is Ốc xào me, or snails with tamarind sauce. For my North American context, snails aren’t necessarily an easy sell and they’re also not exactly easy to find as an ingredient. The cookbook that turned me on to this technique substituted clams. I’ve substituted mussels, which are easier to find and a bit more consistent where I live.

For the sauce and the mussels, the flavors need to be strong and punchy, and will effectively be diluted. Only a small amount will actually hit the mussels, and the rest can be soaked up by rice or bread.

Ingredients

Tamarind base

  • 100 g palm sugar, roughly chopped
  • 100 g fish sauce
  • 100 g tamarind paste

Sauce

  • 10 g galangal, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 20 g garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 6 g red bird’s eye chili, roughly chopped
  • 50 g (about one) small lime, stem cut off and roughly chopped
  • Tamarind base

Mussels

  • Neutral oil
  • 1 stem lemongrass, peeled, smashed, and cut into roughly 2 cm (1 in) pieces
  • 100 g shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 75 g garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
  • 15 g red bird’s eye chilies
  • 1 kg mussels, well-cleaned
  • 8 markut lime leaves
  • Chopped roasted peanuts
  • Vietnamese mint

Method

For the tamarind base

Combine the ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat everything on a medium heat to begin melting the sugar. Whisk everything together to make a smooth sauce, and skim off any scum. It should be slightly thickened but still flow easily.

For the sauce

Combine the galangal, garlic, and chilies in a mortar. Then grind the aromatics into a smooth paste. Add the lime, and roughly combine it into the sauce. Then blend in the tamarind base until everything is homogeneous.

This can also be done with a blender, though the flavor will be less complex.

For the mussels

Heat a wok or large pan over medium heat, and add a film of neutral oil.

When the pan is hot, add the aromatics (lemongrass, shallots, garlic, chilies), and fry them until they’re fragrant, a minute or two.

Then add the mussels, stir them through the oil and aromatics, and then half the sauce. Cover the pan and let the mussels steam to cook, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Uncover the pan, and add the lime leaves. Then add the remaining sauce, and half the peanuts and mint. Toss the mussels again to coat everything. Then top with the other half of the garnishes to serve.

Serve immediately.