Name: Stir-Fried Spicy Clams in Black Bean Sauce (豆豉蛤蝴)
Yield: Serves 2 as a main dish, 3–5 as part of a multicourse meal.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon freshly chopped green scallion rings, or coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves; ½ teaspoon Chinese or Japanese sesame oil; ½–¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt; 2 pounds tiny, fresh clams with tightly closed, unbroken shells; 3–4 teaspoons salted Chinese black beans (not the variety seasoned with five-spice powder); 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or quality, dry sherry; 1–1½ teaspoons Chinese or Japanese sesame oil; 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold chicken stock; 1 scant cup light, unsalted chicken stock; 2–3 teaspoons thin (regular) soy sauce; 2 tablespoons corn or peanut oil; ½ teaspoon sugar; ⅛–¼ teaspoon dried red chili flakes, or ½–¾ teaspoon Chinese chili sauce, or thin-cut rings of fresh yellow chili to taste; 6–8 large cloves garlic, stem end removed, lightly smashed and peeled; 2 medium whole scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths; 1 walnut-size nugget fresh ginger; ⅓–½ pound long, 1/16-inch thin Chinese egg noodles, preferably fresh making your own)

Preparation info

Serves
2
as a main dish .

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

About

I love very tiny, tender clams, and when I can get them I treat them (and me) to this simple stir-fry, and pile the meat-filled shells and the heady sauce on a bed of steamed noodles. It satisfies my north Chinese love for noodles and garlic, and my south Chinese appreciation of clams dressed richly in an unctuous black bean sauce.