Spicy Stir-Fried Clams 辣炒蛤蜊

Spicy Stir-Fried Clams (辣炒蛤蜊) are closely associated with eating clams and drinking beer in Qingdao (青岛). In a Guangming Daily (光明日报) essay, Zhu Nan (朱楠) describes the dish as hot, savoury and slightly salty, with the clams’ fresh flavour still distinct.

Aromatic oil and whole clams

Zhu heats a little peanut oil, adds a few Sichuan peppercorns, then scallion, ginger, garlic and shreds of dried chilli. The clams go into this aromatic oil and are stir-fried in their shells until they open. He notes that the small amount of seawater held inside the shells gives the dish a slight saltiness even without added salt.

Hot clams with cold beer

The essay pairs freshly cooked spicy clams with chilled beer. Zhu also describes a local way of eating them: lift a clam with chopsticks, take the meat-bearing half into the mouth, then gently draw the shell away while keeping the meat.