Vietnamese Clams in lemongrass and Ginger Broth – Con Nghêu Hấp

Ok I confess this post is a little bit of a throwback! Just over a year ago I visited Vietnam with my husband and a friend of ours.

 

 

 

 

Vietnam was truly a land of wonder, history and beauty; it was a great experience and a wonderful trip! (And it deserves it own Blog post or maybe a few…) When I think back one of the best or most memorable parts are the little plastic tables and chairs…

All through Asia small street vendors that sell a variety and some of the best food on offer, do so with stalls and an array of plastic chairs and tables, in alleys, on sidewalks pretty much anywhere they can sell food. The plastic chairs and tables in Vietnam felt way smaller than anywhere else, like tiny kindergarten sized. The size of the tables and chairs proved to be pretty endearing and also I now associate some of the best food moments I had with the little chairs and tables.

This recipe came about after we stumbled into some tiny plastic tables and chairs on a busy Hanoi street on chilly Christmas eve. There was a cute Vietnamese family that ran the place. Large steaming bowls of clams kept coming to the little tables accompanied with mounds of fresh Vietnamese herbs and sauces.

Ingredients

So I came home and had to atleast give it a try, try to reclaim the glory of clams on a sidewalk in the cold. My attempt at Clams was a success , but it lacked some magic though probably since we didn’t eat on tiny plastic chairs on a sidewalk.

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Recipe: Vietnamese Clams in lemongrass and Ginger Broth – Con Nghêu Hấp  

Ingredients:

2 kg small clams
2-3 stalks lemongrass, sliced thinly
5 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
2 red chilli ,
1/4 cup  fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar

Method:

Soak Clams in water for about an hour. Put 1 lt of water into a large pot and bring to the boil. Steam clams for about 5 or 10 minutes until clams are fully open. Discard any clams that do not open.

Remove all clams and set aside. Add all the remaining ingredients to the water and let the broth reduce for a further 15 or 20 minutes.

Place all clams back into the broth and let cook for a further minute.

Serve hot with a generous helping of Vietnamese/Asian herbs such as Thai Basil and mint also known as a “Rau sống” and Vietnamese spicy fish sauce.

Vietnamese Clams in Ginger and lemongrass broth with spicy fish sauce

Vietnamese Spicy Fish Sauce Recipe – Nuoc Cham

Ingredients:

• 2 spicy red chillies sliced
• 2 tspns Minced Garlic
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 Tblspn sugar
• 1 Tblspn lemon juice
• 1 cup water

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a bowl, refrigerate until ready to serve.