Food soundtrack: Sea of love by Cat Power
My favourite food is shellfish and any sort of crustaceans. I love mussels, oysters any seafood really that requires peeling out of a shell. Clams is one of those delights that in Thailand is easy to come by and it doesn’t matter what Italian restaurant I am in, I always get the pasta vongole.
This recipe requires Thai chilli paste (nam prik paw) it adds that sweet but spicy flavour that is such a staple of Thai cooking. It’s important that you keep stirring throughout cooking.
- 2 lb. fresh clams
- 2-3 tbsp. peanut oil
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- chopped red chillies I use about 2, but this depends on how spicy you like.
- 2-3 tbsp roasted chilli paste
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves
- fish sauce to taste
- about 2 tbsp water
1. Heat oil in a shallow frying pan then add chilli and garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds, be careful not to burn.
2. Add chilli paste stir well, then add the sugar and fish sauce, finish with the oyster sauce and stir.
3. Add the clams and stir well till shell opens up and slightly changes color (you can of course pre soak the clams to open up the shells a bit) Add some water. Keep stirring throughout.
4. Lastly stir in the basil leaves, remove from heat and give it a good last stir.
5. Served with rice and enjoy. x
Been looking for an Asian healthy dish this weekend. I’m going to give this a go.
Cheers for recipe.