Hey /ck/,
Long time, no post.
Anyway, the reason I'm here to to seek help.
Many years ago, I lived in Beijing and frequented a certain restaurant. I'm pretty sure it was a Belgian restaurant, but not 100% sure. Definitely European.
This restaurant served some pretty bomb mussels. Steamed in wine and broth with some onion and garlic, nothing out of the ordinary, but what really made this dish was a dipping sauce that came with the mussels. This was before I got into cooking, so I didn't much pay attention to the sauce, was way too busy devouring it. I could have sucked that shit up with a straw.
It was some sort of cream sauce, not overly thick, but not thinned out, either. It was quite garlicky, but there were other flavours.
I'd like to make the lady mussels tonight, and if anyone on this fine board could provide me with any information regarding this dipping sauce, that'd be fan-fucking-tastic.
I could make a variation of my own, but I'd really like to know what this sauce was.
Thanks guys.
Ur lookin for some cream of mushroom cambels soup
>>7148090
Dunno, sounds like some kind of garlic butter cream sauce. Maybe melt some butter, cook some garlic in it for a couple minutes, add some white wine and cream, salt, pepper, some fresh herbs and simmer it for a couple minutes to thicken it up a bit.
>>7148114
See, that's pretty much what I planning on making, and pretty much how I was going to make it.
The sauce had a name I couldn't, as a young teen, pronounce, and I was hoping for a specific recipe. That being said, thanks, anon. Much more helpful than the Campbell's soup comment.
>>7148206
When you say dipping sauce, do you mean the sauce at the bottom of the bowl that the mussles were cooked in? Sounds like standard moules mariniere.
>>7148114
this. except be sure to reduce the wine with the garlic. then add some clam juice and some cream, then the herbs.
Garlic aioli, a very common pairing with mussels and general seafood
>>7148230
or it could be Rouille,
>>7148217
No, there was the broth/cooking base liquid that the mussels were steamed in, but this was made and served on the side, in its own bowl.
>>7148090
Moules...just wiki it. Pick the recipe that seems right to you. Go the extra step and get some shallots and wine, and it might bring back your memories.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moules-frites
I prefer good bread for the sauce, not fries. Afaik, the trick to mussels this way is cleaning them up good.
>>7148090
Hey guys, just got back from the store and my local fish/seafood monger. Want to say a thanks to you folks for your ideas and input. I'm just going to make my own version of this mystery sauce. Guess I'll post some pictures, let you know how it all went. Thanks again.
Late reply, but I do it two ways.
Saute:
red onion
shaved fennel
Add:
garlic
mussels
white wine
Cover pan and simmer until they open.
Add a splash of heavy cream.
Bring back to simmer.
Toss in torn basil leaves and plate it.
The other way is with coconut milk and red curry paste. I'm sure you can guess that one.
>>7148435
this dude is on the right track, but you should sweat fennel/shallot/garlic in oil first.
add diced raw bacon, brown bacon
add bloody mary mix/butter and throw mussels in pan
sautee until hot, add lemon juice, deglaze with white wine and then cover for 1-2 minutes
serve with toasted bread
>>7148090
Alright, so... supper is done and eaten, and I'm full as fuck.
Here's how it all went down:
For the mussels, I sautéed some onion, garlic, shallot and parsley in butter, just enough to sweat it. Then I added some cabernet sauvignon and a bit of house made chicken stock to the pot, salt and pepper, and reduced to about half. I then tossed the mussels in for about four minutes at a simmer, and covered the pot. Good stuff.
For the sauce I so badly wanted, I sautéed some shallot and garlic in butter, added salt and pepper, fresh parsley and thyme, and again added some cab sauv and chicken stock, reduced it by about half, then added some 35% cream, and simmered until it started to thicken. It was pretty damned good, I will say.
I sliced some French baguette and dried it out in the oven. I didn't toast it, just dried it out. It was good for soaking up both sauces.
The pasta shown is a simple recipe. De-cased sun dried tomato and basil sausage, browned in a pan. I then added a Roma tomato, red onion, garlic, an orange pepper, parsley, basil, chili flakes, a house made tomato sauce, and spinach and arugula. Spaghetti underneath it.
All in all, dinner was quite good. Lots of wine left over for drinking.
Again, thanks for all the input, /ck/.
>>7148828
I think not. With the amount of butter I cranked into my meal, that shit isn't /fit/ for anyone.
>>7148814
Looks good man.
I find the sauce thing confusing though. Sounds like the same sauce as you have in the bottom of the mussles, just with some cream added. The traditional way of cooking mussels would be to do what you did - sweat shallot and garlic, add white wine, steam the mussels and then finally add some cream and parsley with about a minute left of cooking. You get the same sauce, but no need for a seperate cooking pot.
