Sauteed Clams

A dish I miss sorely from Taiwan is stir-fried clams. I love picking from an assortment of fresh clams from the traditional open air markets . It's also really cute how the clams squirt water every now and then at passer-bys.

Clams from the Nankan District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan Market

Live clams are much harder to come by in the states. You can cook with frozen clams with the shells still intact, but try to make this dish with fresh ones when available.

Ingredients
Clams (cleaned; let them soak in water a bit so they can spit out sandy stuff)
minced ginger, garlic, and green onions
dried red chili peppers
white wine
black bean paste, lemongrass sauce paste, or whatever jar of sauce/paste you want to experiment with
If you don't want to use a paste, soy sauce or salt would make this dish lighter but just as tasty

minced ginger, garlic, and green onions

In a lightly oiled pan, stir-fry the minced ingredients with the peppers then add in the clams. After about 2 minutes, add in the paste/sauce/seasoning of your choice (I used hot lemongrass paste), stir around for a bit, and add wine. Let the clams simmer in the wine until they open.

Spicy Lemongrass Clams