Quick-Poached Xishi Tongue Clams 汆西施舌

How it is made

The key is the stock, which should be a clear stock; a specialist quoted by Qingdao News allows broth from boiled clams and xishi tongue clams as a substitute. The clam meat has its skirt removed and is cut into thin slices and washed. The stock is brought to the boil with salt and chicken fat, and the slices are tipped in in front of the diners. Finely chopped coriander stalks and chive greens, ground pepper and vinegar come to the table in separate dishes.

Dazhong News describes a refined way of serving it that uses only the larger part of the tongue-shaped tip of the meat, cooked gently in clear stock together with the clam's own juice.

How it is eaten

The dish has to be eaten hot: once the soup cools a little, the clam meat turns tough. It can also be served as a small hotpot, with each diner holding an empty bowl and swishing slices through the stock seven or eight times before eating them. In a 2019 tasting, Qingdao Evening News found poaching showed off the clam better than steaming or stir-frying, and noted that chicken stock keeps its heat and tastes richer, while clam broth cools quickly. At one Qingdao restaurant the paper describes, chicken and clam broths are mixed, the slices are poured in at the table and ladled out at once, so the meat stays crisp-tender and sweet.

Where it comes from

The writer Liang Shiqiu (梁实秋) first ate xishi tongue clam in the 1930s at Qingdao's Shunxinglou (顺兴楼) restaurant, and recalled a bowl of clear soup with pointed white pieces floating on top that felt smooth and tender in the mouth. He held that the clam is best poached in clear stock rather than fried. Clams from Boli (泊里) in the city's West Coast New Area (西海岸新区) were listed as a national geographical-indication product by the Ministry of Agriculture in November 2010.