Taiwanese clams

“While checking out all the weird, wonderful and sometimes familiar ingredients at the Matsu Temple market in Taipei, I came across pickled cordia berries, which are like tiny olives with a sweet and sour, almost tamarind flavour. They made a nice little addition to this simple clam dish and you should be able to find them in good Asian supermarkets. If you can’t get them, the dish will still be delicious!” Ainsley Harriott, Ainsley Harriott’s Street Food

You can always substitute the poultry in three-cup chicken with clams. Just make sure you still use a liberal amount of Taiwanese basil. Credit: Ainsley Eats The Streets

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 500 g clams, soaked in lightly salted cold water for 1 hour
• 1½ tbsp canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2.5 cm piece ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 1½ fresh red chillies, seeded and thinly sliced diagonally
• 1 tsp rice wine
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• ¼ tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 heads baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise
• 2 spring onions (scallions), cut into 5 cm lengths
• 1 tbsp pickled cordia (sebesten) berries, optional

Soaking time 1 hour

Instructions

Drain the clams and rinse well.

Heat a large wok over high heat until smoking hot. Add the canola oil and swirl it around and up the sides of the wok. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir-fry for 20 seconds or until fragrant. Add the clams and a splash of water, toss to combine well, then cover and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the clams start to open.  

As soon as the clams start to open, add the rice wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar and toss to coat well. Place the bok choy on top, cover the wok with a lid and steam for 1-2 minutes or until just tender. Remove the bok choy from the wok and divide among serving plates.

Add the spring onion and pickled cordia berries, if using, to the clams and cook for another minute. Spoon the clams and sauce over the bok choy and serve immediately. 

Ainsley Harriott’s Street Food starts Thursday 6 August 2015 at 8.30pm on SBS and finishes 1 October 2015. Visit the Ainsley Harriott’s Street Food program page to catch-up on episodes online, scroll through recipes and read our interview with Ainsley.

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.