Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Clams with Spicy Bean Sauce

WW wokking thru Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

The hubby had no problem polishing these off; this after him saying, clams? with no excitement whatsoever, when I mentioned to him all I had left to do was wash the clams before I started stir-frying (he's not much of a fan of shellfish). To my credit, I did ask him beforehand, like a week before, if he was good with clams for our next WW meal - his answer, if you are making them.

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Shallots, ginger, garlic

Bowl 2: Clams

Bowl 3: Thai red pepper

Bowl 4: Chicken broth, bean sauce, soy sauce

Bowl 5: Scallions

 Four of the clams had cracks - so I tossed them; just to be safe.

Nature's art.

Super easy weeknight meal!! I served this with a spinach salad and French bread. The clams would go nicely served over pasta as well, as a couple of our members did. To see how beautiful the clams look nestled amongst a swirl of linguine, check out Lisette's photo on the WW Facebook page.

This took no time at all to get on the table. This of course depends on your clams. Audrey, another member tells me, if you have access to really fresh clams, like harvesting them yourself, or from a clam fishery, you may need to soak them in cold water for about an hour for them to release their sand. For me, I purchased them at our local higher-end market, which meant they probably had been sitting around, and soaking long enough to expel most of their sand before I purchased them. I had very little residue after rinsing and brushing - and no grit at all while eating them.

If you Google how to prepare clams, some sites say to soak the clams in salted water - probably not the best idea, for clams can be salty on their own, and this recipe calls for bean sauce, which has a fair amount of salt. I felt this stir-fry was a bit too briny, though Andy thought it was fine, and there were no complaints from other members in regards to it being too salty.

A couple of other Wok Wednesday members recommend soaking the clams in water with cornmeal of all things; and Grace even mentions in the book, that old-fashioned Chinese cooks swear by placing a carbon-steel cleaver in the bowl with the clams, this being the best way to clean them.

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 169, of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library.    

The recipe is also available here; however, I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.

 

 

Book Ninety-Two: Sunset 2003 Recipe Annual

by the Editors of Sunset Magazine

For me, the new year brings encouragement to get back to routines and the hope to accomplish more than the previous year.

I have let the sole purpose of this blog - to cook through all my cookbooks - to go by the wayside. Last year I joined two online baking/cooking groups which take up a lot of time - each group posts two recipes a month.

I could easily drop the baking group if it was not for all of the wonderful bakers from all over the world that I bake along with. Reading their blogs and comments makes it like we know each other personally, not to mention all the pointers and ideas you get from reading all the different variations of the recipes. However, the recipes have been less than ideal in my opinion. We have made twenty-two recipes and I can honestly say only a handful (if that) were worth it. Still, to drop this group would be like losing a best friend.

I'm hoping to post on two of my books a month - if not more - in addition to the four recipes a month for the groups I'm in. It may not sound like much (we do have to eat everyday, after all), but it's setting up the scene, taking the pictures, and writing up the post that is so time consuming, not to mention I also host a blog on my hiking adventures each week.

A picture from one of our hikes.

Well, this was not what I was hoping for for my first post of the year. I was wanting something with WOW factor - a knock-my-socks-off recipe to rave about. Not only did I run out of time for a recipe like that and went for simple, yet tasty, this was a disappointment. The salad was surprisingly good (recipe from the same book) and that is all I ate aside from two bites of the spaghetti. When the hubbs started on the pasta (after devouring the salad) his first words were, "it's fishy.."  We both agreed to toss the rest because, as he said, "It was a little off..."

You can't win them all. On the bright side, it was a super easy recipe and at minimal cost. When it fails, best it not be a costly, complex, and time consuming recipe.

The year is still young, and there are better recipes out there. Hope to share them with you soon!

Success meter (1-3): DUD!

Boil the noodles while you make the sauce.

Add clams to reduction.

Add pasta, parsley and hot chili flakes.

Simple ingredients for salad dressing.

This was the only tapanade available at my local large chain grocery.

I did not care for the taste on it's own, but it made for a great salad dressing!

Tapanade, balsamic, and olive oil.

Simplicity.

Surprisingly tasty.

Down the garbage disposal it goes...

Though I do not recommend the pasta dish, and you insist on wanting to try it yourself, you can find the recipe along with the salad recipe after the jump.