Authentic Taiwanese Style Clams (Beer House)

Today we are making Taiwanese Style Clams 九層塔炒海瓜子 – just like the Taiwanese Beer Houses. If you ever come across some super fresh clams, this recipe is exactly what you need to make. This sauce is the perfect balance between sweet, savory, and spicy. With the heat from both ginger and Thai chili, this clam recipe packs a PUNCH that you’ll need to wash down with a sip of ice-cold beer. You’ll never cook clams a different way again.

Day 19 of 20 Minute Dinners for 21 Days

Welcome to Day 19 of Cooking 20 Minute Dinner for 21 Days, where we’re making Taiwanese Beer House-style Basil Clams today! If you have never been to Taiwan before, beer houses are simply casual beer bars serving Taiwanese comfort foods just like Japanese Izakaya Style restaurants. Most people order tons of dishes that pair perfectly with beer. Even if you don’t drink, there’s something for everyone because the food there is always extra good! Most dishes cost around 99NT ($3), and is made in front of you with seasonal ingredients.

Taiwanese-Style Clams Ingredients 

• 1.5 lb of Clams 
• 3 inch of thinly sliced Ginger 
• 7 cloves of garlic thinly sliced 
• 4 Thai Chili (chopped) 
• 2 tbsp of Chinese Cooking Wine (optional) 
• 3 tbsp of Oyster Sauce 
• 2 tbsp of Sugar 
• 3.5 cups of Thai Basil 

Clams

The star of this dish is of course, the fresh clams. At the supermarkets, you’ll most likely find littleneck clams or cherrystone clams, but any type of clams work. When choosing clams, make sure that all of the clams are alive. Avoid slightly open clams with broken shells, because they spoil super fast. If there’s any ammonia-like smell, avoid them! Once you finish cooking, make sure to also pick out all the ones the remained closed, because those clams have gone bad!

Cleaning Your Clams

Clams have a feeding tube that sucks in and filters water, which means they contain a lot of sand. To make sure your clams are clean, soak your clams. About 1-2 hours before cooking, put your clams in a bowl of salt water in room temperature. This encourages them to spit out the sand they’re currently holding inside. Rinse them out after, and resoak in salt water if you feel like they might have more sand to spit out. You can skip this step if your clams come pre-cleaned.

Thai Basil

Thai basil is a crucial ingredient to make Authentic Taiwanese Style Clams. It elevates the flavor and compliments the sauce by providing freshness to the dish. I love adding tons of basil at the end and frying it at high heat, so the aroma is even more intense.

If you can’t find Thai Basil, you can substitute for regular basil and 1 tbsp of chopped cilantro.

Step By Step Process For Taiwanese Basil Clams

1. In a pan, drizzle in oil and turn the heat up to medium-high. Once the pan is hot, add in garlic, ginger, and Thai chili. Saute together for 2 minutes or until fragrant 
2. Add in clams and saute together for 1-2 minutes. 
3. Drizzle in Chinese cooking wine and put the lid for it to cook for 7 minutes or until the clams are fully open 
4. In a bowl, mix oyster sauce and sugar. 
5. After 7 minutes, drizzle on the sauce, add the basil and saute on high heat for 1-2 minutes. 

What To Enjoy with Taiwanese-Style Clams

Everytime I make these Taiwanese Basil Clams, I have to pair it with a tall glass of cold beer. That spiciness lingers on your tongue, and the only way to soothe it is an icy sip. If you don’t drink alcohol, definitely substitute for an ice-cold glass of Coke or ginger ale. Trust me, it’s heavenly. Enjoy all your clam meat with your beer. Then, don’t waste that sauce and drizzle it all over a big bowl of rice!