1 hour ago, rarerollingobject said:
It's clams steamed with garlic, chilli and vermicelli. They're delicious. I intentionally booked a hotel with kitchenettes so I could buy things from the wet markets and bring them back to cook (as between-meal snacks, don't you know!) so might do something with some garlic/black bean/razor clams.
That is something that drives me nuts. Every night market or restaurant in southern China serves sea food in exactly the same way. Clams with chili and vermicelli, oysters with chili and vermicelli, scallops with chili and vermicelli etc. I've surprised many Chinese friends by cooking them differently (or eating them raw). They have no idea that there are alternatives.
In fact, it is the same with many foods. Buy a fish and if you are not careful, before you know it they will have prepared it for the only dish they know how to cook. One vendor got annoyed with me when I refused the squid she had rapidly hacked to pieces while I was counting the money to pay for them. I was planning on stuffing them. I've got them trained better now.
That said, the seafood with chili and vermin (as my daughter dubbed it) isn't so bad. Just not all the time. Black bean razor clams are great.
