Clams with Black Bean Sauce, 豆鼓蜆

Cooked, but as raw as possible

These are cooked clams, but there is an art to taking the clams off heat the moment they open up. Overcook them and they become tough, chewy, and bland. But when they’re still a tiny bit raw, they are just so juicy and flavorful. It takes some practice to get right, but totally worth the extra effort.

Ingredients 

• dried preserved black beans

• vegetable oil

• soy sauce

• sugar (optional)

• fresh live clams

Dried black beans from the store

Steps

You always want to start with live fresh clams. If the clams are dead, they could be unsafe to eat. This is a dish where you’ll want to cook them as close to purchase time as possible.

Scrub and clean the clams. Then, soak clams in cold salt water (1 tsp salt) at room temperature (~60 deg F) for 2-4 hours. The live clams will naturally flush the sand out of their bivalves. If the clams are from the refrigerator, you’ll have to leave them soak for 24 hours.

Place the clams in cold water on the stove. Then slowly cook the clams at a low temperature until the clams open up very minimally (as seen in picture below). We will continue to cook the clams in a stir-fry later. If you try to stir fry clams when they're completely closed, it is more difficult for them to open up.

Take a handful of dried black beans and finely dice them.

In a small dish, mix in a small amount of cooking oil and mix well. Microwave for 2 minutes. (Or place in a steamer for 10 minutes).

Heat up the wok with new cooking oil. Start by stir frying the black beans to release the flavors.

 Add some water. Add 2 teaspoons sugar [optional] and 1 teaspoon soy sauce.

Add clams and stir fry. Cover the wok. Cook until the clam shells open.
Be careful not to overcook, which will make the clams tough. The clams are best served slightly undercooked. }

To avoid overcooking, I will use chopsticks to remove individuals clams one by one immediately after they open up.

Pour some of the remaining sauce over the clams and you’re done!