Steamed razor clams with garlic and glass noodles
Razor clams split and steamed over glass noodles with golden and raw garlic, then finished with sizzling oil and soy — sweet, juicy and gone in minutes.
- 28 min
- Serves 2
- Steam
- Easy
Why it suits you: A balanced constitution simply needs to eat with the season. As Chushu's heat eases and autumn dryness begins, Hong Kong stays humid. Razor clams are sweet and moistening, nourishing yin and clearing heat; the noodles soak up every drop of the juices, and garlic warms the stomach to temper the clams' coolness. Steamed with little oil, it's a light, clean supper.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 8 min- 1Soak the razor clams in lightly salted water for 30 minutes to purge the sand. Prise each one open along the shell, remove the dark sand vein, rinse and drain. Soak the glass noodles in warm water until soft and snip shorter.
- 2Fry half the garlic in 1 tbsp oil over a low heat until golden, turn off the heat and mix in the raw garlic and a pinch of salt — the classic 'gold and silver garlic'.
- 3Spread the noodles over a plate, arrange the clams cut side up and spoon the garlic over each. Steam over boiling water on a high heat for 5 minutes.
- 4Scatter with spring onion and chilli and pour over the soy sauce, then heat the remaining oil until smoking and drizzle over the top. Serve at once.
Cautions
- Razor clams are cold, so go easy if your digestion is weak or you get loose stools; avoid them if shellfish disagrees with you or you have gout or high uric acid, and make sure they're cooked through.
Chef's tips
- Remove the sand vein so the clams aren't gritty; steam for no more than 5 minutes after the water boils, or the flesh shrinks and toughens.
The TCM view
Razor clams are sweet, salty and cold, entering the heart, liver and kidneys, nourishing yin, clearing heat and easing restlessness — old texts say they 'clear pathogenic heat and vexation from the chest'. Glass noodles, made from mung bean starch, are sweet and cool and relieve summer heat; garlic is pungent and warm, warming the middle and moving qi to balance the clams; spring onion frees the yang.
