Simple Stir-Fried Clams

“Simple way to stir fry, even with the most basic ingredients in your refrigerator, you may easily turn fresh clams into delicious dish in a flash!”

Found these fresh large clams which comes in thin shells instead of usual thick shells type. This flower-patterned thin shelled clam is not as common to be found in Singapore market than in Malaysia, especially such large ones. Hence, I had to just grab some even though I had no clue how to deal with these shells.

Till the very last minute, I was still not inspired how to cook it, and due to lack of other ingredients to spice up my cooking for this, I decided to simply stir fry with ginger and bird eye chili which found in my refrigerator. Well, it turned out good!

Simple, but aromatic dish. The addition of bird eye chili had enhanced the fresh seafood flavour of these clams to it’s fullest.

See recipe below:

Ingredients
1 kg of fresh clams, rinsed and soaked
1 teaspoon of dried tiny shrimp (虾米), rinsed and soaked
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bird eye chili, chopped
1 thick slice of ginger, chopped
Pinch of salt and sugar
2 tablespoons of water

1 tablespoon of oil

Method
1) Rinse and then soak clams in salted water for 1 hour. Rinse again and drain. Set aside.

2) Rinse and soak dried shrimp for 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Set aside.

3) Heat wok with oil over medium fire. Add in dried shrimps, ginger, garlic and chili, stir fry till fragrant. *Beware of pungency from the chili.

4) Add clams and water into wok. Stir fry for 10 seconds. Cover wok with lid. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until shells are opened. Reduce heat while simmering, if necessary.

5) When cooked, remove lid. Sprinkle salt and sugar. Stir fry to combine. Heat off and dish up. Remove those unopened shells. Serve with steamed rice.

A plate of my clam dish counts about 150kcal. Pretty low fat though.

Tips: When clams are cooked, do a taste check before adding salt. If it tastes briny enough for the palate, omit or reduce salt, and add only sugar to enhance the overall taste of the dish.
* You may blanch the clams in boiling water added with lump of salt and ginger slices, for just a few seconds. This may help to further get rid of any dirt from inside the shells as well as eliminate fishy taste, if any.