Tahong with Gata (Mussels in Spicy Coconut Sauce)

Ingredients:

2 pounds mussels; soak in water sprinkled with salt, rinse and clean
1 can coconut milk
1 large onion, cut into 8 pieces
4 stalks lemon grass (available in Chinatown stores)
10-15 kefir lime leaves (available in Chinatown stores)
scallions, cut into 2 1/2 inch length and sliced thinly lengthwise for garnish

Cooking Method:

Pour coconut milk in a saucepan (large enough to hold mussels later). Add onion, lemon grass and lime leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the mixture is reduced to more than half or when the sauce is relatively thick. Do not panic that you won't have enough sauce as the mussels will give you more liquid later. Set aside until ready to use, or refrigerate and use it the next day.

Bring the sauce to a high temperature and add cleaned mussels, stirring to coat each mussel with sauce. Remove mussels that have opened to a separate bowl, and continue to stir until all mussels have opened. If a lot of water comes out of the mussels and sauce is watered down, remove all the mussels and reduce the sauce some more. Then pour the thick sauce over the mussels. Garnish with sliced scallions.

Source: Recipe Book of Filipino Cuisine