Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Clams Steamed with Ginger and Scallions

By Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Geung Chung Jing Hin

Editor's note: This recipe is reprinted from My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen: 100 Family Recipes and Life Lessons, by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo.

Clams are the fruit of the sea that represent prosperity and are, to be sure, permissible to be eaten by observant Buddhists, including nuns.

Note:

To make scallion oil: Trim, clean, and dry 3 to 4 bunches of scallions (1 pound), then cut each scallion into 2-inch pieces and lightly smash the white portions. Heat wok over high heat for 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups peanut oil and scallions. Stir and mix well, making certain scallions are immersed in oil. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer the oil and scallions for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until scallions brown. Turn off heat, strain through a fine strainer into a bowl and cool to room temperature. Pour into a glass jar, cover and refrigerate until needed. This recipe makes 1 1/4 cups, but the oil keeps for three months refrigerated.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 12 clams

Ingredients

Sauce

2 teaspoons minced ginger
3 tablespoons scallions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Shao-Hsing wine, or sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese white rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon scallion oil (see Note, below)
3 tablespoons vegetable stock
Pinch white pepper
12 clams, medium, opened on the half-shell by a fishmonger
8 cups boiling water
6 sprigs coriander

Preparation

  1. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl. Place clams in a steamproof dish. Stir sauce, pour over clams. Place dish on a rack in a wok over 6 cups boiling water, cover and steam, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Do not oversteam, or clams will become tough. Turn off heat and remove dish from steamer. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

From My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen: 100 Family Recipes and Life Lessons by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, (C) © 2006 By arrangement with Home Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA)
TagsChineseEast AsianAsianClamShellfishSeafoodGingerHerbs & SpicesScallionOnionRoot VegetableVegetableCilantroMainStarterDinnerNut FreeDairy FreeEasyQuickSteamLunar New YearCookbooks
Read More
Crispy Tofu With Scallion-Ginger Sauce
The tofu is crunchy on the outside, in part thanks to a panko-studded exterior, and squishy-in-a-good-way on the inside. It also comes together in 20 minutes.
Oven-Fried Shrimp
Kewpie Mayonnaise is the ultimate secret ingredient to creating a perfect oven-baked battered-and-fried crunch without a deep fryer.
Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Spaghetti)
Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.
Wampanoaug Clam Fritters
The clams’ natural briny sweetness serves as a surprising foil for the tender fritter batter—just be sure to pull off the tough outer coating of the siphon.
Kung Pao Cabbage With Tofu
Reliable cabbage is cooked in the punchy sauce and then combined with store-bought baked tofu and roasted cashews for a salad that can also be eaten with rice.
Crispy Oyster Mushroom Skewers With Bok Choy Salad
Oyster mushrooms are a strong all-rounder in the kitchen, seeming to straddle both plant and meat worlds in what they look and taste like when cooked. Here they’re coated in a marinade my mother used to use when cooking Chinese food at home—honey, soy, garlic and ginger—and roasted until golden, crisp, and juicy.
Kimchi Gim Bugak (Fried Seaweed Chips)
Bugak is the ideal light beer snack: It’s crunchy, salty, and the fresher it’s made, the better. Thin sheets of kimchi add an extra spicy savory layer.
Zaru Soba (Cold Buckwheat Noodles)
Cool off with this easy zaru soba recipe: a Japanese dish of chewy buckwheat noodles served with chilled mentsuyu dipping sauce, daikon, nori, and scallions.