Lala Clams Bee Hoon Soup
The family loves clams, cooked any style.
Italian with garlic and white wine, Mediterranean cioppino style or Chinese-style steamed with ginger and Huadiao wine. Clams in soup, clams in pasta or risotto, clams on its own. You name it, we love it! I guess it is the natural sweetness of clams that attracts us to the shellfish.
Sweet and briny with a hint of seawater-taste, clams offer a tender chew to many recipes just like this easy Lala bee hoon soup which I cooked for the family last night. Good to the last drop!
Ingredients (Serves 5 - 6)
- 1 kg Lala Clams (Washed and soaked in salt water for 30 minutes, drained)
- 10-12 Prawns (Shelled)
- 10-12 Crayfish (Shelled)
- 1 packet 400g fine Bee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli)
- 1/4 White Chinese (Napa) Cabbage (Washed and slice into 1-cm thick)
- 6 Ginger slices (Cut into fine julienne)
- Sesame Oil
- Chinese Wine
- Fish Sauce
- Soya Sauce
- Sugar
- Salt
- Pepper
Soup Stock
- A handful (about 60g) Ikan Bilis (Rinsed and squeezed dry)
- A handful (about 80g) Soya Bean (Soaked for 15 min and drained)
- 5 bowls (2.5 litres) Water
Method
Put all ingredient for soup stock in a pot and boil for 45 minutes. Remove ikan bilis and beans. Keep aside.
Soak bee hoon in cold water for 30 minutes. Drained and keep aside.
Marinate prawns and crayfish (You can use other seafood or meat) with half of the ginger julienne, Chinese wine, fish sauce, white pepper and sugar for 30 minutes.
Boil bee hoon in a large pot of water. It takes just a while to cook the rice noodle (turns white) due to the soaking. Remove and distribute the bee hoon into serving bowls.
Heat up 2 tbsp of sesame oil and regular cooking oil in a large wok. Stir fry the remaining ginger julienne until fragrant but not brown.
Turn up the fire, add clams and generous splash of Chinese wine. Cover for a minute.
Add soup stock and bring to boil. Add all other seafood and Chinese cabbage and allow soup to boil again and all ingredients cooked. Season with fish sauce, salt and pepper.
Thicken soup with corn starch (This is optional).
Scoop soup and seafood over bowls of bee hoon.
Serve immediately.