1 Clean first, then cook clams first in water medium heat
2 Add/amend ingredients
3 Cooking Steps
Delicious Kam Heong La-la
Ingredients
1 kg fresh La-la or clams, from wet market 1 kg @ S$3
2 T Canola Oil
1 T dried shrimp soaked in water, chopped fine.
10 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 sprigs fresh curry leaves removed from sprigs
Spice paste
1/2 ts Yeo's taucheo or salted soya beans.
1 T A1 brand Instant Fish Curry - my go-to fish curry for salmon fish head curry.
1 T Fairprice Premium (No MSG) Oyster Sauce - nice taste and good quality.
1 ts Tiger Top Quality Light Soya Sauce - used slightly under 1 ts as my previous attempt came out too salty!
1/2 ts Tiger Premium dark soya sauce - used less than 1/2 ts as premium dark is very thick and dark, only a little bit suffice for color.
1 ts brown sugar - used 1/2 ts as clam has natural sweetness.
Knoor ikan bilis (anchovy) seasoning powder/granules (no msg) - very tasty, only a scoop suffices! - used 1 scoop for this dish.
1 T tapioca starch in 2 T water for thickening at the end of cooking.
Garnish
1 stalk spring onion, cut into 1-inch strips
2 large red chillis, de-seeded, then sliced - I avoided using 4-5 bird chillies to avoid the fiery heat!
Procedure
Step 1: Clean clams in cold fresh water for 2-3 hrs. Didn't add salt as I didn't want clams to absorb additional salt!
Step 2: Boil water, turn down to medium simmering heat, add 1 kg clams. Remove clams one by one as each open slightly, signifying the clam is fresh and does not have any foul smell - I picked up a closed foul-smelling clam! This way the clams are not over-cooked yet you can check if they are fresh indeed individually. Next, use a knife to pry open and inspect each slightly open clams one-by-one. This step is important because I discovered even open clams could be dead clams!! Remove those open clams with a slight foul smell (Eye-ball and use your sensitive nose!! I picked out 1 ! ).
Step 3: Heat oil in wok. Turn down heat to medium-low. Saute the shrimp until it is fragrant, about 1-2 min. Then add shallot and garlic and continue to saute under medium-low heat. Adjust fire to ensure the garlic and shallot have enough heat to develop the aroma. Too low heat will not produce it and too high destroy the aroma.
Step 4: Next, add the spice paste. I added 2 T water first to the wok containing the shallots, garlic, curry leaves. This step is crucial - heat briefly, only 30 sec just to mix in the fragrant curry leaves! Later the clams will cook longer, so this way the curry leaves will not be overcooked and its aroma masked or diminished by over-heating.
Step 5: When I am sure the spice paste is well-mixed with the shallots, garlic, etc I added the slightly cooked clams, heat up briefly for 30 sec, then turn down heat, and finish by throwing in the fresh spring onion and sliced chillies, tapioca starch in 2-3 T water, cooking for another minute. I adjust the water to produce a more moist, less-dry clam dish!
Step 6 - Test 1-2 clams to check if the clams are cooked and adjust for taste.
Comment: My dear wife was surprised: "Taste better than food courts! Masarub! Aroi-mak! Enak! Sooo goood!" From the aroma I knew it must be awesomely delicious!
Important Note: As clams live in the mud and sand, you need to take extra care to avoid potential food poisoning. You also need to control the heat to avoid over-cooking the clams. To sum:
- Clean clams, ensure no dead clams remain in the wok.
- Don't over-cook. Observe 30-sec cooking time as directed. Ensure sufficient water in order not to burn the spice paste or over-heat it! Also do not depart or vary the ingredient quantity above.
- When I finally took some la-la to eat, I was stupefied: Wow, it's good! Very aromatic, with just a hint of salt. I never expect I could prepare such a scrumptious dish. Thank goodness I took care to ensure no salt was used to wash and clean the clams. Since clams are naturally salty, using salt could introduce added saltiness and ruin the dish.
- To sift out dead clams I pre-cooked and individually inspected each slightly open clam. I checked and smelled each clam to see if any has a foul smell. No amount of work is too tedious to ensure dead clams do not cook in the same broth as the live ones!! After all, local cockles and clams have a notoriety for causing food poisoning. The water in the Straits of Johor and off Lim Chu Kang are polluted, according to a friendly kelong operator in the waters off Lim Chu Kang.
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