The Clams with Black Bean Sauce My Dad's Made 100,000 Times

Step 1: Soak clams

Place the clams (2 lb) into a bowl of cold water. Let them soak while you prepare the other ingredients.

Step 2: Cut ingredients

Smash, peel, and mince the garlic (3 clove).

If your ginger is clean, you can keep the peel on. If you prefer to peel the ginger, go ahead. Mince the ginger (0.25 oz) as well.

Finely chop all of the following ingredients:

• chili pepper (2 whole) (remove the stem and core)
• white parts of the green onions (3 stalk)
• red onion (3 layer)
• red bell pepper (1 oz)

It’s important to chop them into small pieces because smaller pieces will distribute more evenly throughout the dish.

Step 3: Prepare sauce & slurry

Prepare the sauce by combining light soy sauce (2 tsp), dark soy sauce (1 tsp), oyster sauce (1 tbsp), water (0.25 cup), white pepper (0.25 tsp), and sugar (1 tsp).

Prepare the thickening slurry by combining cornstarch (1 tbsp) and water (3 tbsp). Mix well to dissolve the cornstarch.

Step 4: Parboil clams

Drain the clams from the water; you may see that it’s sandy from the clams expelling debris.

Boil a lot of water in a wok on high heat; the more water you start with, the more heat it can contain, which is ideal for cooking the calms as quickly as possible. Ideally, use enough water to at least submerge the clams.

When the water comes to a boil, add the clams. Cook until the clams open up, which took us about 4 minutes. Turn the heat off.

Remove the opened clams from the wok. If you see clams that are still closed up, use a small knife to pry them open.

If they smell normal, they’re edible. If they smell bad, chuck them out.

Drain and discard the water from wok. Give it a quick clean so you can use it to stir-fry.

Step 5: Stir-fry aromatics

Heat the wok on high heat. Make sure it’s dry, and add oil (2 tbsp).

Add ginger, garlic, green onion whites and chili pepper. Lower the heat to medium heat and cook until the aromatics are fragrant, or about 15-20 seconds.

Turn the heat to low and add black bean sauce (1.3 tbsp). Stir to distribute for 5-10 seconds.

Add the onion and bell peppers and cook for 30-35 seconds.

Step 6: Add clams & stir-fry everything

Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the clams back in and stir-fry everything together for 25-30 seconds.

Add the sauce you mixed up earlier. Turn the heat to the highest setting, then stir to distribute for about 50 seconds.

Give the cornstarch slurry a quick mix to dissolve any cornstarch that’s settled to the bottom, then gradually pour as you stir the ingredients. Add just a little of the slurry at a time until you’re happy with the consistency of the sauce. My dad only uses 1/2 of the slurry.

Turn off the heat. Drizzle sesame oil (1 tsp) over top for its aroma and some oil (1 tsp) for extra shine. Stir to distribute, then plate. Enjoy!