8 Dec 2018
we wanted to recreate the chilli sauce clams at Newton Circus hawker centre. so mom bought 1kg of fresh clams (we call them La La here) for $6/kg at the wet market. usually, we will fry them "har lok style" - ie with chilli, onions, ginger, oyster sauce and chinese wine. but this time, we dug into the fridge for some ready-made ingredients to make a quick chilli sauce - we need to make the sauce similar to the Singapore chilli crab sauce. our aga-aga-anyhow-ownself-made sauce smells and tastes really good! (altho not the same as the clams we ordered at Newton Circus, but today's home-cooked clams was all good, too haha!)
chilli sauce clams
- red & green chilli
- ginger
- garlic
- red onions
- lemongrass (or serai) x1
other ingredients
- dried haebi (shrimps)
- spring onions
- coriander
- eggs x2 or x3
chilli sauce (close to the singapore chilli crab sauce)
- tomato ketchup x7 tbsp
- chilli sauce x2 tbsp
- nasi lemak chilli (lee wee bros) x2-3 tbsp
- sambal balachan x1-2 tbsp
(i use our own blend of nonya sambal balachan!)
- vinegar x5 tbsp
or lime juice 1/2 cup
or assam x5 tbsp or 1/2 cup if mixed with water
- fish sauce - to taste
- sugar - to taste or if needed
- cornstarch / slurry to thicken sauce
1. fry hae bi, then add aromatics - onions, chillis, garlic, ginger, lemongrass
2. add clams and fry
3. add sauce and cook till clams open. add water if needed.
4. when clams are done, turn off fire, crack in eggs and stir
5. serve with fresh spring onions and coriander
this recipe would be called "har lok" if you omit the chilli sauce and replace the sauce with oyster sauce + chinese wine.
you can use this recipe for other shellfish / seafood too,
like prawns, crayfish, crabs (but not fish Lol)
