Clams stir fry with black bean sauce is a delicious and easy to make dish. Clam dishes is always perfect for a quick weeknight meal or to serving friends for parties. This dish is full of flavor from the lovely combination of fermented black beans, garlic, scallion and ginger.

What are fermented black beans?

Fermented black beans, also known as dou-chi, are soybeans that have been fermented and salted. They have a strong, pungent flavor and are used as a flavoring in Chinese cuisine. Usually packaged in bags, fermented black beans are available in most Asian stores or supermarkets. In China, fermented black beans have several versions and derivative product, see this post for details and more information if you are interested.

How to prepare clams before cooking!

Clams are a delicious seafood item that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, either in stir fry, steamed dishes or soups. However, if they are not properly prepared, clams can end up being quite gritty due to the sand that they contain. To avoid this, it is important to prepare clams before cooking them. By follow the steps below, you can ensure that your clams are free of sand and ready to enjoy.

1. The first step is to soak the clams in salty and oily water. Add clam in a large pot, add water to cover, and add around 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of oil. Soak for at least 1 hour. This will help to filter out any grit and sand clinging to the shell.
2. Next, rinse the clams several times with fresh water to remove any residual salt and attached grits. Then drain before using because too much water contents will weaken flavors from the aroma.

Cook's Tips

1. The fermented black beans are salted and if you are watching the salt intake, you may need to soak the beans in clean water for couple of minutes. But this method may soften the aroma too.
2. In this dish, since we use no thick paste sauces, we need to chop the ginger, black beans and ginger very finely. So they can go over the dish and coat each of the clams.

Instructions

1. Add the clams into a pan or wok. Then add around 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine. Cover the lid the let it cook for 3 minutes until the shells are open.

Cover the lid and let it simmer for a while to let the wine evaporated. Then drain and remove all the liquid content.

Heat oil until hot and add garlic, black beans and ginger. Use slow fire to fry until aromatic.

Mix in clams and quickly fry.

Add a very small amount of light soy sauce and scallion. Mix well and serve hot!