Clams Stir-Fried with Black Beans

This recipe is adapted from Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. With a serious dose of umami from fermented black beans, it is a familiar Cantonese classic, the author tells us in her headnote.

She included it as part of a menu for a Lunar New Year banquet because “When clams open, they symbolize prosperity.” A pioneer in teaching traditional Chinese cooking to American home cooks, Yin-Fei Lo — who was born in Guangzhou, and grew up in Hong Kong, died in 2022.

READ: “Auspiciously, deliciously ring in the Year of the Dragon with these outstanding Chinese cookbooks”

Dark soy sauce, mung bean starch and fermented black beans (also known as salted black beans) are available online; dark soy sauce and fermented black beans are also easily found in Asian supermarkets. If you don’t have mung bean starch, you can substitute corn starch, but the sauce won’t have as nice a sheen. To shred the ginger, cut into thin slices, then use a cleaver or other knife to cut stacks of slices finely into shreds.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Ingredients

2 quarts / 2 liters water

30 medium-sized clams, scrubbed to remove sand and grit

For the sauce

2/3 cup / 158 ml chicken broth

1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon mung bean starch (or substitute corn starch)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pinch of white pepper

To complete the dish

3 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons peeled and shredded ginger

2 tablespoons julienned garlic (about 3 medium cloves)

3 tablespoons fermented black beans, rinsed twice and well drained

1 tablespoon thinly sliced cilantro

1 tablespoon thinly sliced green scallion tops

Instructions

1. Pour the water into a wok and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the clams and allow the water to return to a boil. This will take 4 to 5 minutes. The clams will begin to open. Move them about with a spatula to hep the process along. As they open, remove them to a waiting dish, to prevent them from becoming tough. Continue until all of the clams have been opened (discard any that do not open). Set the clams aside. Discard the water and wash and dry the wok and spatula and reserve.

2. To make the sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the chicken broth, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, mung bean starch, sugar and white pepper. Set aside.

3. Heat the wok over high heat for 40 seconds. Add the peanut oil and, using the spatula, coat the wok with the oil. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add the ginger, garlic and black beans and stir to mix well until the garlic and black beans release their fragrance. Add the clams and stir to mix for 2 minutes. Make a well in the center of the clams, stir the sauce, and pour it into the well. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and the clams are thoroughly coated with the sauce.

4. Turn off the heat and transfer to a heated dish. Sprinkle with the cilantro and scallion and serve.

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