Stir-Fried Clam With Fermented Bean Paste

Stir-Fried Clam With Fermented Bean Paste

 

The flesh of the clam is very sweet and succulent

 

Ingredients

3 kg clams
30g ginger, sliced thinly
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp fermented bean paste (meen see in Cantonese and taucheo in Hokkien)
2 tbsp oil
2 Chinese rice bowl water

Instructions

 

1.  Heat a wok, add 2 tbsp oil
2.  Add 1 tbsp minced garlic and the sliced ginger. Fry until light brown and fragrant
3.  Add 3 tbsp fermented bean paste and fry for 1 minute
4.  Add the clams and 2 rice bowls of water and not more because when cooked water from the clams will be added to the wok.
5.  Cover the wok with a lid and let it boil for 5 minutes
6.  Check to see if they have opened up. If yes, then they are ready. If not, stir it so that the unopened ones go to the bottom of the wok to be cooked further.
7.  When dishing up the clams make sure you do not scoop up the sand at the bottom of the wok.




Note: It is very important to make sure the clams that you buy are fresh. So how do you know if the clams are fresh you might ask? Simple, touch the clams to see if they move. Don't buy prepacked frozen ones. I always buy mine at the Selayang wholesale market where they are put in plastic containers and you can see them moving. From experience, this is the best way to cook clam. Steaming it would mean eating sand trapped in the clam as well. If you prefer steaming it then this is what you can do to rid the clam of sand. Firstly, the clams must be fresh and alive, put them in a basin of water add in one teaspoon of salt and leave the basin in a dark place away from sunlight. The clams will start getting rid of the sand trapped inside them. This will take a few hours.