Spicy Clam Noodle Soup

あさりのビーフン辛汁

Canadian Clams are on sale at the Japanese/Asian market….$3.99 per pound, $2 less…hmmm….what can I do with it?…this unexpected surprise  is like a curve ball…I’d love to hit it…it doesn’t have to be a home run but something pleasing….

It is quite hot outside, I must take them home safely, so I asked the clerk to pack the clams in  (free) ice…they are always nice about that (did you get it? I made a rhyme, ice, nice…no more rhymes now, I mean it! Anybody want a peanut?…with my love of The Princess Bride, those lines pop up in  my head in an instant). At the produce aisle, I grabbed an inexpensive a bundle of green onions to start working the game plan.

OK actually, I am remembering  the recipe in an old magazine… I think I have a budget friendly, low-calorie, gluten free… winning chance! I mean recipe.

Ingredients and Instruction for 2-4 people (Print Recipe Here)

• 1 pound (about) of clams, thoroughly cleaned with a stiff brush under running water. Note: I highly recommend soaking the clams in salted water for at least 1 hours to let them spit out sand. Check here for the method.
• 1 package of rice noodle
• Ginger root, about the size of an adult thumb, peeled and thinly julienned.
• 3 Tablespoons sake
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari soy sauce
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 stalks of green onion, cut 1/2 inch of root end and small round cut
• La-yu oil – depending on your preference, I used 5 drops.

1. With plenty of hot water, soak the rice noodle to reconstitute; about 5-7 minutes.
2. While soaking the noodles, boil 6 cups of water in a large pot. Add sake, ginger and cleaned clams. Reduce heat to low and cook until the clams open-up (discard any that do not open).. Scoop and remove the white scum that floats to the top.
   
3. Add soy sauce, salt, pepper.
4. Strain the rice noodle through a colander, shake to remove excess water. Add the noodle to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Do the taste test, add more seasoning to adjust if needed. Note: cut noodle in half or thirds with kitchen scissor for easier consumption…I used pre-cut noodle.
5. Serve noodles in individual bowls, sprinkle sesame oil, la-yu oil then top with green onion . Serve hot or chilled (I like it cold). 

My husband’s colleague makes the best kimchee…it goes well with this dish…고맙습니다 ! (Thank you).

Peaches are in season. I had to make peach cobbler for my Today’s TAPAS post (#todaystapas). I happen to have a mini casserole dish. My husband made amazing kefir ice cream…a little sour, sorbet like texture…so good!…What?…this pic is not focused? (but) You (peach cobbler) are wonderful! Thank you, I’ve worked hard to become so… (again the lines from The Princess Bride).

I taught a pretty 20 year-old piano virtuoso, student at Rice University, French macaron making. In the photo below, Strawberry macarons with dark chocolate ganache filling were délicieux! 

Next lesson, Italian macaron?  Si?

True Grit

Spaghetti Alle Vongole

The clams harvest close to Mt Fuji has drastically decreased recently linked to a possible connection to Mt. Fuji activity. Last time it erupted was in 1707, during the Edo era. There have been things like the sudden collapse of section of the mountain, Lake Kawaguchi is north side of Mt. Fuji, it’s water level is unusually low and the massive amount of ayu (鮎, sweet fish) die off; those strange occurrences may be predicting another eruption in the near future? That is some scientists’ theory…I hope they ‘re wrong.Looking at Mt. Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi.

The clams my husband cooked were of Washington state origin so they had nothing to do with Mt. Fuji or to this recipe yet it was kind of eerie. We were there! A couple of months ago! We walked along Lake Kawaguchi, seeing Mt. Fuji up close… The thought that we may never see serene Mt. Fuji again and hearing of other catastrophic natural disasters lately cast shadow on my mind.

Now let’s go on to cooking - Hold your horses Cowboy, you shouldn’t cook clams right away! They need serious salt bath time! I lectured my husband. Biting into sandy clam is no fun-at-the-beach, de-grit you must! I read a fellow blogger’s method of de-gritting (is that really a word?) and I’m happy to report that it’s practically identical to mine, just that she is cuter and younger..what I’m talking about? In fact, I was getting nervous that the blogger made a really similar dish last week. Her fabulous photos and everything…Honey, do we have a plan B? No? I see….on the bright side, my recipe has Italian name. Buon Appetito!

Time to purge!   

1. Clean clams well with bristle brush under running water.
2. In a large bowl, pour 1000ml water and dissolve 2 Tablespoons of sea salt. Place a strainer one size smaller than the bowl. Put cleaned clams into the strainer.
   
3. Lay long cooking chopsticks or wooden spatulas across the bowl.
4. Cover with a newspaper or cloth on top.
   
5. Wait at least 1 hour but 3 or more hours is preferred. After more than 5 hours in salt water bath, clams were way relaxed.

Ingredients for 2-3 people

• Olive oil 1 Tablespoon
• Garlic 2 cloves thinly sliced
• Red hot pepper 1-2 pods, seeds removed and slice across
• Clams 2 pounds
• White wine 1/3 cup
• Spaghetti half package about 8oz.or less
• Cabbage leaves 3-4 roughly chopped
• Salt, white pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a skillet. Add garlic and red hot pepper and sauté until fragrant.
2. Add clams and sauté for 30 seconds.
3. Pour wine and cover with lid. Steam until clams open up. Discard ones that do not open. Remove clams to plate or bowl. Set aside.
4. Pour 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt in a same pan and boil.
5. Break spaghetti in half or thirds and put in the pan. Cook till al dente. Add more water if spaghetti is not cooked.
   
6. Return the clams plus cabbage to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.Darling, this is marvelous!

    

Every Thursday 4 PM to 8 PM till September 5th. the city’s Farmer’s Market is open for the season. First stop - pizza! It was Delicious!

We ordered drinks at this place. Not bad but the price …yowza $5.75 We could buy 2 slices of pizza with that kind of money.Hand cranked juice extractor?

The picture is gluten free mini cupcakes but we bought regular cupcakes. 75 cent each or 3 for $2.Colorful macaroons are for our eyes only…we are getting short on cash. There is always next week.A different artist is scheduled each week.

The better part of Saturday was spent weeding and removing dead plants. Our next door neighbor came out with a pick to help my husband. How nice!I made strawberry cupcakes using fresh strawberries from garden as a Thank-You gift. I added very little sugar so they were not overly sweet.My raspberry shortcake raspberry plant looks wonderful – Hummm, it does not taste like shortcake however.My husband found this moth’s(?) nest in back yard.

I received bunch of lavender again this year from a neighbor who grew it in her back yard. Love, love lavender!

Aromatic

Baked clam escargot style

Clam is our family’s favorite shellfish, except for my daughter. She does not like foods that come from the sea that much. Funny, she lives by the ocean though. Clam sauce spaghetti is our go to dish when we’re in a time crunch. Clams steamed with rice wine (アサリの酒蒸し) at Maki (槙) restaurant in Tigard, Oregon is our staple order. Drinking the garlicky and oceanic flavored juice left after eating all the clams is a delightful treat. You should try it sometime.

My earliest memory associated with clam is fragmented because I was so young but I remember going on the boat to some nameless… wait, it has a name but I just couldn't recall,,,anyway a small island in Nagasaki with my cousins, aunts and uncles for clam hunting. Clams were not found under the sand but stuck to the side of rocks in the shoulder high water. You could lay on your stomach on the rock and stretch out your hands to reach them ( I couldn’t ) or go underwater to get them. I hit the jackpot of clams accidently. I got in the water to see what seemed like millions of clams clustered along the side of a huge rock!  My imagination went wild all of a sudden and I was over whelmed with monstrous fear. I was out numbered for sure. I did a retraction as fast as my little feet were able then stumbled down and drunk sea water, so much for the jackpot. It was otherwise a fun outing. We had rice ball, kara age chicken, baked egg and some pickles we brought for lunch. We stopped at a tiny tobacco shop to get some ice candy (popsicle) on the way over to the boat dock. I got sea sick on the return trip, that was no fun. I wish I remembered only the good parts.

Come to think of it now, it may not really have been clams but some kind of shell fish but that does not matter, they were really tasty. I don’t have to go hunting to get shellfish anymore. They are sold fresh at Asian market. Whopping 50 cent per pound off from regular price last week. I bought a couple pounds.This recipe I adapted from Chez Shea restaurant in Seattle that has a perfect flavoring of parsley garlic butter. I didn’t have fresh parsley but I had left over carrot leaves and that was just fine. As it baked in the oven, the aroma filled the kitchen and traveled upstairs to our bedrooms like life’s little bliss,,,now where is the room deodorizer? It’s getting a little stinky in here.

Ingredients

Rimmed baking sheet lined with scrunched foil

• Fresh clams-I bought 2 pounds or 20-26 clams. Choose the larger size if possible.
• Water for boiling about 3 cups
• Garlic 3 cloves finely minced
• Shallots finely minced 2 Tablespoon
• Parsley or carrot leaves finely mince 2 Tablespoon
• Unsalted butter 1 cup at room temperature
• Salt 2 teaspoons
• Bread crumbs about 1/4 cup

1. Fill a large bowl with clean water. Put in all the clams and leave in the water for a couple hours so clams will spit sand out. I do this mainly for my peace of mind. Scrub hard to clean the shell under running water.
2. Mean while make the parsley garlic butter by combining garlic, shallots, parsley, salt,  butter and salt in a bowl. Set it aside.
3. Boil the pot of water and put clams in and cover. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Take out only the ones that opened and discard the water and unopened clams.
5. Wait a few minutes for the clams to cool down and remove the meat from the shell.
6. Separate shells in half and put 20 to 26 of clams shell on the prepared pan.
7. Heat oven to 450F
8. Put clam meat in the selected shells then top with butter mixture (you don’t have to use all the butter).
9. Sprinkle with bread crumbs on top then bake for 6-8 minutes till they turn a golden color.

They are great with fresh squeezed lemon juice.

I’m still working on the macro lens.

Verdict: Its hard. I need more practice.

 

.  

Clam Sauce Spaghetti

My husband as cook                              
In our kitchen,I believe I’m executive chef. He however has great skill in certain area of cooking. Our children attest to that, so I guess he will be my sous chef. He usually cooks from memory and he is sucker for carbo loaded foods. He wash dishes too. I’m so glad I don’t have to do every thing.
My top FIVE of his dishes are:

1. Fried scone – Warm scone drizzled with honey is very comforting. He will prepare this in bread machine early in the morning, so we could have for breakfast, What a nice guy!
2. Real cream cheese cheesecake with whole wheat crust bottom- It tastes better the next day.
3. Crepe- Whenever our children come home, this is his staple to make for breakfast.  Chocolate sauce, fruits and whipped heavy cream; roll it up like tube and eat it. This is great stuff.
4. Cinnamon Rolls- He will make this when someone in his office has a birthday or if there is a long meeting planned that day or just if someone in his office asks him for it. He will make it the night before, let the dough raise in the refrigerator over night and wake up early to bake. Their appreciation is shown by the empty dish.
5. Clam sauce spaghetti- We always have cans of clam in our pantry for this quick and easy yet satisfying dish. I requested this the other night because I needed a break. Our son loves it, not so much for my daughter. She and sea food are just friends.

He does not have recipe but this is how he makes it

• Put some butter in a sauce pan
• Add some crushed garlic and sauté until soft
• Add some sake and simmer to remove the alcohol
• Add crushed sweet basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Open two cans of chopped or minced clams and pour in the juice reserving the clams
• Dissolve a couple of tablespoons of corn starch in a couple of cups of milk or half-and-half
• When the clam juice mixture begins to boil stir in the milk
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick
• Turn off the heat and add in the reserved clams
• Add parsley if desired

The very next day, I made clam sauce gratin from the left over clam sauce. Just pour the clam sauce over cooked rice in an oven safe dish. Grate lots of parmesan cheese and panko and dots with butter. Bake in the oven at 375 F until bubbly on the edges and golden color at the top. Sauce may be a bit dry the next day so add more milk, cream or juice from can of clam. For pouring over the rice,you want the sauce to be a little thin.

I will sing a song to show my gratitude to my husband (with appropriate thanks to Old Blue Eyes).

Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars
Let me see what Spring is like on Jupiter and Mars
In other words, Hold my hand
In other words, Darling kiss me
Fill my heart with song and let me sing forever more
You are all I long for, all I worship and adore
In other words, Please be true
In other words, I love you

Oops! Too corny. Sorry.