Mussels in Black Bean Sauce

This was a first for me.  I love clams........oysters..........and even mussels........HOWEVER, I have never cooked them!  LOL  It was a piece of cake to make this recipe.  I was a little worried, but my fears melted away when I dusted off my steamer and dropped those little babies in!  They opened right up!  The recipe called for garlic, but did not give me a measurement...........so I just threw in a clove.  I wasn't sure I would find the black bean sauce that this recipe called for, but after a little searching in the Asian section of my market I found it.  It was quite a find.  I could see using this in a lot of different Asian recipes.  I also had a hard time finding a fresh red chili pepper, so I just used a dried Japanese red pepper.  (Watch out for those babies, they are hot!)   Lesia's recipe for Mussels in Black Bean Sause was a success.  Tom, Tanner and I loved this. 

The recipe didn't have me serve it over anything.  I suppose you could just eat them as is, but we ate them over noodles.