New England Clam Chowder

 蛤蜊巧達浓汤

Ultimate comfort food with sweet clams, tender potatoes and creamy soup. Slurps!

Ingredients

1kg live clams or 1 canned clams

5 medium size potatoes (get the yellow potatoes for creamier soup)

1 carrot

2-3 celery leaves

1/2 big onion

1 garlic clove

3 strips smoked bacon

Knob of butter (20g)

150g heavy cream

1 loaf of baguette

Method

I bought fresh clams from wet market. Follow steps 1 and 2 to degrit and cook the clams for the soup. Skip these steps if you are using canned clams.

1. Put the clams on a steaming rack(or any rack with holes) in a single layer i.e. do not stack the clams over each other. Place the steaming rack in a basin or pot. Fill the basin /  pot with salted water (1 tablespoon to 1 litre water) up to the mouth of the clams. Do not submerge the clams under the salted water. Cover the basin/pot with a cloth or aluminium foil for 1 to 3 hours and leave a small opening for the clams to breathe. Discard the salted water thereafter and replace with clean water. Leave the clams covered again for 1 hour. Wash the clams.

2. Put the clams in a pot filled with 600ml water, and boil the clams for 5 to 10minutes until the clams opened up. Discard clams that remained closed as they are likely dead clams. Remove the clams from the shells, as well as the clam’s intestines/internal organs. Set aside the cleaned clams AND the clam juice from boiling the clams.

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3. Cut the potatoes, carrot and celery leaves into small pieces (size depend on your preference - whether you want chunky vegetables or cube size). Cut the onion into wedges. Peel and cut the garlic into thin slices. Cut the bacon into 1cm strips.

4. Heat up a large pot, add one teaspoon of oil and fry the bacons until the edges are crispy and golden. Remove the bacons and leave the fat in the pot. Saute the onion and garlic. Then add the vegetables and a knob of butter stir fry for a few minutes. Add the clam juice just enough to cover the vegetables. Simmer until the potatoes begin to dissolve.

5. Add the clams and heavy cream to the soup. Simmer for a few more minutes and season with salt and pepper.

6. Serve with bacon topping and garlic bread. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Chef Robert Del Grande