Spaghetti Hoi Siab Nam Prik Pao

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• some oil
• 500 g mussels (e.g. clams)
• 1 tbsp garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp chili pepper(s), chopped (more or less according to taste)
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp chili paste, roasted (Nam Prik Pao) or chili jam, medium hot
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• some water
• 1 handful of Thai basil (Bai Horapa), or more
• 200g spaghetti

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Thai spaghetti with roasted chili paste and mussels

Cook the spaghetti in salted water until tender. Heat the oil in a large pan until very hot. First, briefly sauté the garlic, chilies, nam prik pao, oyster sauce, and sugar, then immediately add the mussels. Stir well to coat all the mussels with the seasoning. Fry uncovered for about 5 minutes, then add a little water. Season to taste and finally add the bai horapa. If you like, you can mix the mussels with the spaghetti in the pan, or serve the pasta and mussels separately. You can, of course, serve the mussels with rice, but we prefer them with pasta. This dish is now very common on menus in Thailand.