Fried Green Lipped Mussels

A trip to a new grocery store, 99 Ranch, was the inspiration for this fried mussel recipe. I was amazed at the price of a package of about 30 large green lipped mussels, already shelled and cooked; for $3.42 I just had to buy them. I thought the fact that they were already cooked was going to present a problem, but this treatment worked out just perfectly.


Ingredients:
large green lipped mussels
sake
flour
1t grated fresh ginger
1/4C cilantro
Panko bread crumbs
extra virgin olive oil (peanut or corn oil)
2 cloves garlic
1T toasted sesame oil


Directions:
First make 1 cup of thin batter with flour and sake (I just mixed them in a measuring cup), then added the chopped cilantro and grated ginger. Heat enough oil to fry the shell fish in a large frying pan over a medium high heat, add the sesame oil, and 2 smashed cloves of garlic to flavor the oil. Rinse the mussels, pat dry and dredge in flour, dip in the batter, then coat in Panko. Fry until golden brown on both sides, drain on a paper towel and serve.

Note:
The above photo shows a tarter sauce made of mayonnaise, wasabi powder, chopped cilantro and a very small amount of seafood chili sauce.