Pipis with Sri Lankan XO

"We are so lucky on the Sunshine Coast to be able to have so much food literally between our toes. Clams of any sort or even mussels can be substituted for these little shellfish. Make sure you don’t cook the sugar for too long - it will set your XO sauce like a rock." Peter Kuruvita, Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen

• serves

  2

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 kg purged pipis (see Note)
• 50 g virgin coconut oil
• 1 large bunch kangkung (water spinach)
• 150 g samphire (see Note)

Sri Lankan XO paste

• 150 g virgin coconut oil
• 500 g finely diced onion
• 1 pandanus leaf, tied into a knot
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 cloves
• 100 g chilli flakes
• 5 sprigs shredded curry leaves
• 100 g crushed garlic
• 100 g grated ginger
• 250 g dried prawns, ground coarsely
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

To make the XO paste, heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium- high heat. Add the onion, pandanus leaf, cinnamon, cloves and chilli flakes and fry until golden brown. Add the curry leaves, garlic and ginger and cook for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the ground prawns, sugar and salt and cook for another 3 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool slightly, then remove the pandanus leaf and the cinnamon sticks and spoon the paste into a sterilised jar, seal and refrigerate until needed.

Heat a wok over high heat until smoking. Add 50 g of the coconut oil, then carefully add the pipis and stir-fry for 3- 5 minutes until the first pipi starts to open.  Add a large spoonful of the XO paste, the stir-fry for another 3- 5 minutes. Toss in the kangkung, followed by the samphire and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the kangkung has wilted. Remove from the heat and serve immediately in the wok.

Note

• Make sure your pipis have been purged before you cook them or they will be full of gritty sand. Many fishmongers will sell them already purged, but if not, simply soak them for 12 hours in lightly salted cold water, then drain and rinse.

• Samphire is a native succulent also referred to as sea asparagus, swamp grass, salicorne, glasswort, pickleweed and sea beans. Woody at the base and with many branches, it grows freely on many of Southern Australia’s salty flats. Available from specialist grocers or online.

• This recipe will make much more XO sauce than you need, but it will keep refrigerated in a sealed jar for up to 3 months. One teaspoon goes a long way in adding flavor and heat to meat or seafood dishes.

Photography by Dan Freene. Food preparation by Peter Kuruvita/ Cody Fahey.

Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen airs Thursdays at 8.30pm on SBS. Visit the program page for more details, recipes and guides.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.