Grilled Mussels with Lime and Pepper Sauce

• Always ensure your mussels are fresh before cooking by asking your fishmonger, and making sure there are no offensive smells or broken shells.
• The mussels can be replaced with clams or other shellfish. The sauce works beautifully with most seafood!

I will never forget the first experience of the overwhelmingly fruity and spicy kick of Cambodia’s Kampot black pepper. Mostly because it was delicious, but also because I was in the remote province of Preah Vihear (near the border of Thailand and Laos) and didn’t realize I was eating pepper-coated frog legs!

Pepper offers such an exciting depth of flavor and texture. We often add only a sprinkle or a shake to dishes, so when I discovered pepper being used abundantly as the main flavoring for many dishes and sauces in Cambodia, I was completely taken by surprise.

This dish is one of my absolute favorites on the barbecue and a tribute to the magical pairing of Cambodian pepper and seafood. There is nothing better than plump, juicy shellfish paired with this tangy, fragrant and peppery Cambodian sauce called tuk meric.