Thai-style Mussels with Coconut Milk and Lemongrass

Here's an novel idea for cooking mussels with Thai ingredients. It's simple and should impress your friends or significant other when they come over for movie night. Here's what you need:

1 lb. mussels (washed and debearded)
1/2 can coconut milk
1 stalk lemongrass (chopped up in a blender)
2 medium sized shallots (minced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
1 Thai bird chili chopped (optional)

Using a wok, heat up a couple of tablespoons of oil and sauté the garlic, ginger, shallots and lemongrass until fragrant. Add the cleaned mussels into the wok and stir to mix all the ingredients together with the mussels. Next, add the coconut milk and water (and fish sauce), stir well and let the liquid come to a boil. When all the mussels have opened up, add the chopped cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

And you are done. Yes, seriously, you are done. Simple and delicious. Try it!