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Chinese Clam Soup
Clams (and seafood in general) are cheap, fresh and in abundance here in Taipei. This Chinese clam soup (蛤蜊湯) with ginger is a warming soup suitable for the cool rainy days in Taipei now, yet it is also very refreshing and light-tasting for hotter season.
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This soup is fast to make with only a few ingredients, which is just the right dish for me to cook since my kitchen in Taipei is limited. Even though the soup looks clear and light-bodied, the umami depth from the clams is rich. It is also a very buildable recipe: I love to add squash or melon chunks to my bowl of clam soup.
These are the clams I used for this recipe, after they are cleaned and de-gritted. Soak fresh clams in a bowl of salted water for 1-2 hours, until the sand & grit are purged out. Discard the water, rinse the clams and they are ready to use.
So very fresh and delicious! One of my favourite summer soups.
As you are in TW , your clam soup reminded me of one of my favorites 蛤蜊锅 clam soup pot* that I enjoyed in TW. A whole pot of clams with lotsa ginger and green onions! So yummy yummy umami!:P (though I know it is much cheaper to cook at home)
* (they are usually available in those restaurants/eateries serving 花雕鸡 e.g. http://www.1ping.com.tw/menu.php#colorcategory0 , https://www.25772745.com.tw/page/news/show.aspx?num=43&kind=14&page=1
thanks for your recommendations, will check it out :)
I’ve been eating mostly at local eateries since I’m living in a local district. & Japanese food & burgers (lol). Not yet stepped into a Taiwanese restaurant :p
Hi Noobcook,
Can I ask which rice wine do you use for this recipe? Can you recommend 1 brand that is good and sold in SG? I read at another blog to use the normal chinese rice wine, not huatiaojiu, for this dish as it tastes better.
What is the difference between chinese rice wine and huatiaojiu and when to use each? I have only used huatiaojiu for all my cooking so far, steaming or soups. Thank you very much.
Hi Jean, in this recipe, I am using rice wine (clear type) and NOT hua tiao/shaoxing. Check out the second last picture of this recipe: https://noobcook.com/taiwanese-sesame-wine-chicken/ (P.S. if you have leftover rice wine, you can make this dish too!) That’s the brand of rice wine I get in SG as it is cheap & decent. Rice wine can also be substituted with drinking Japanese sake (though more expensive).
For hua tiao jiu, I use it for stir-fries and in my red glutinous wine soup.
Also, to answer your question in your email, there is no ‘sharp’ taste in this soup by default. I did not add sugar to this soup. Hope this helps!
Thank you Wiffy! Greatly appreciate your reply.