Spring Bay Steamed Mussels with Dipping Sauce

1kg of mussels in the shell
Nam jim (ทำน้ำจิ้มแจ่ว) Thai dipping sauce.
Thammachart Seafood Sauce – we recommend this sauce for convenience and enjoyment
 Lemon, soy and ginger dressing:
1 tbsp. Japanese soy sauce
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. mirin or sherry
1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
2 (15g) green shallots very finely sliced
40ml mussels stock
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds (optional) 
Combine the soy, lemon, mirin, ginger, shallots and mussel stock in a small bowl. Spoon onto steamed mussels and sprinkle over the sesame seeds 

- Clean and rinse the mussels well in half a pot of water, moving them around. Remove any remaining beards and scrape off any barnacles from each mussel. Drain well in a colander. 

- Keep the cleaned mussels out of the water in the refrigerator until ready for use. Do not keep them more than a few hours after washing. 

- Steam the mussels: Arrange the mussels on a large plate and place in a steamer basket over a pot or wok of boiling water. Or add ½ cup of water to a large heavy based pot and bring to the boil, then add the mussels. 

- Steam for about 3-4 minutes or until the mussels have opened and the meat has pulled away from the shell. Prize open any unopened mussels with a knife. 

Options 

- Keep some of the mussel stock that is left from cooking to add to the dressing. 

- Serve the mussels in the shell and have guests remove the meat with small dipping forks, or…

- Remove the top shell and arrange the mussels in the "half-shell" on a platter, spoon on some the dressing and serve