Geoduckiod Clams in Scotland

[Adam Balic]

Whilst cuising my local fishmongers I noticed that amounghst all the razor clams, there were a few dozen giant clams (shells about 15 -20 cm long) with very long siphons. I have read several discussions on geoducks on this site and while I don' think that these scottish clams are the same species (they are called 'Sandgaper' clams here, they looked similar enough that I bought several (along with a few razor clams). (Total cost = 98 pence!). The fishmonger had never eaten them.

I put the shell fish in a bowl of water with sea salt, where they quite happily squirted water aroung the place until I killed them. Following the advice given here, I striped off the skin of the siphon and ate some of is raw, some quickly sauted in butter (more warmed through really). The flesh was slightly crunchy, yet soft and tender, but the flavour was incredibly sweet and similar in taste to lobster or, even better, octopus. THe flavour of the razor clams was similar, but not as sweet.

I would like to serve some of these to people for dinner tomorrow any suggestions? They would need to be altered in some way as not to look 'icky' for these particular guests. Sliced in a Salad?

Oh is it worth the bother to eat the foot?

[Simon Majumdar]

Adam

If these are the ones I have had, do not bother with the foot as it is chewy and tough.

I like to serve a plate of these done very simply sauteed in a not too strong olive oil and then served up with crunchy lardons and capers ( perhaps, if you are into that kind of thing, on a great piece of bread toasted after being rubbed with garlic )

would make a great starter with a glass of Pinot gris

S

[Miss J]

Are you looking for something simple or showstopper? I can offer a simple idea, but I'm sure Jin will reliably supply the showstopper ones.

How about sliced, sauteed and served with a salt & pepper dip?

Or maybe tempura with a light soy & sesame dip?

As for the foot, I think it's probably best used to frighten those of a delicate nature.

[Vanessa]

Simon - does that mean you can buy those large clams here in London? Steve Hatt or elsewhere? I'd be very interested to try but have never seen them. The thought of sweet octopus/lobster flavour clam flesh with lardons & capers has just given me the munchies at this time of the afternoon.

v

[Simon Majumdar]

Simon - does that mean you can buy those large clams here in London?  Steve Hatt or elsewhere?  I'd be very interested to try but have never seen them.  The thought of sweet octopus/lobster flavour clam flesh with lardons & capers has just given me the munchies at this time of the afternoon.

v

Selfidges Food Hall had them the last time I saw them

Steve Hatt often has Razor Clams, but not the large ones.

The razors work just as well in the dish above. Very simple and delicious

S

[Jinmyo]

For how many people and how many do you have?

A range of preparations would be nice:

As sashimi with shoyu and ponzu.

As seviche with lime, lemongrass, ginger, and chile.

Poached in wine and herbs (basil comes to mind) and served with a loose pesto dipping sauce.

As a brunoise mixed with peppers and spooned atop rice or noodles.

Or in a more Western context, the same as above but with butter and served with linguine.

Or in a fish broth with the large shells placed in the bottom of the bowls.

Or...

[Adam Balic]

Simon - that sounds very good and it would do well as a starter before the woodcock, which I am going to serve with Chantarelle/hedgehog/griolle risotto.

Miss J - simple is good. Have you a fail safe tempura batter/cooking technique? Mine always falls off.

[Simon Majumdar]

Mine always falls off.

That's just too easy, Adam.......

But,

I have learned that the secret to good tempura batter is to make it at the last moment and to make it with Soda water that has been kept in the freezer until it is ice cold.

S

[Adam Balic]

Or in a fish broth with the large shells placed in the bottom of the bowls.

Or...

That sounds really cool. I liked them raw, but I don't think that the other people will go for that. Otherwise the seviche would be great (yes, I know it is 'cooked' by the lime).

[Adam Balic]

Mine always falls off.

That's just too easy, Adam.......

But,

I have learned that the secret to good tempura batter is to make it at the last moment and to make it with Soda water that has been kept in the freezer until it is ice cold.

S

Soda water heh? Will Tonic water do?

Do you use cornflour?

[Simon Majumdar]

Soda water is better.

And yup, I use cornflour. You can also mix in a whipped egg white. I did this once and it worked really well

S

[Adam Balic]

Soda water is better.

And yup, I use cornflour.  You can also mix in a whipped  egg white.  I did this once and it worked really well

S

So that's what egg white are for! I once asked a chef what their restaurant what they did with all the exess egg white and he said that they added a couple of whole eggs nad made them into staff meal omelettes. Good for muscle tone I guess.

[Blue Heron]

Adam, out here on the west coast (Seattle) we pound our geoduck strips first to tenderize them, before frying. Do you need to pound yours or are they already tender? I haven't tried it as tempura but it sounds delicious. The way we do ours is just cut into strips, pound them, bread them lightly with egg and cracker meal w/ S & P, and sautee or pan fry quickly in oil for a minute or so each side, or until lightly brown (do not overcook). Serve w/ homemade tarter sauce for an appetizer, or one could make a wine sauce w/the pan drippings. They taste sweet like abalone this way.

I'm curious to hear how the tempura goes as I'd like to try that sometime. Good luck!

[Adam Balic]

Adam, out here on the west coast (Seattle) we pound our geoduck strips first to tenderize them, before frying.  Do you need to pound yours or are they already tender?  I haven't tried it as tempura but it sounds delicious.  The way we do ours is just cut into strips, pound them, bread them lightly with egg and cracker meal w/ S & P, and sautee or pan fry quickly in oil for a minute or so each side, or until lightly brown (do not overcook).  Serve w/ homemade tarter sauce for an appetizer, or one could make a wine sauce w/the pan drippings.  They taste sweet like abalone this way.

I'm curious to hear how the tempura goes as I'd like to try that sometime.  Good luck!

BH - the texture of the flesh was unusual. A slight crunchieness in the outer layers, but never tough. Crunchy, but tender. I'm not sure how big your clams are or if that makes a difference, in cross section the siphon was about 5-6cm at the base to about 2-3 at the squirty end.

Back in Australia, black lipped abalone are common enough that we would pre-pare them as you described. I think I prefer that flavour of the clams more though. Would have to taste them side by side to be sure.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, I recall that in Sydney one could hardly walk down the street for all the black lipped abalone.

[Jinmyo]

Soda water and egg white make a very voluptuous tempura batter. Trotter does this. But I usually prefer a simpler, more austere batter for tempura that doesn't make the crust and batter the point but just cradles lightly and doesn't even cover completely. Ice water, rice flour, salt.

[Simon Majumdar]

Soda water and egg white make a very voluptuous tempura batter. Trotter does this. But I usually prefer a simpler, more austere batter for tempura that doesn't make the crust and batter the point but just cradles lightly and doesn't even cover completely. Ice water, rice flour, salt.

Are you dissing my tempura batter?!!!

That's fighting talk where I come from

S

[cabrales]

Abalone might be a good analogue for the more elastic, "dense" parts of the geoduck's body, particularly if thin slicing of that portion is not deployed. I wonder if braising techniques and recipes (including Chinese braising techniques for abalone, which might utilize Chinese soup base and spareribs/chicken feet for gelatinous textures) might be appropriate for that "tougher", but still very interesting, portion.

[Jinmyo]

Soda water and egg white make a very voluptuous tempura batter. Trotter does this. But I usually prefer a simpler, more austere batter for tempura that doesn't make the crust and batter the point but just cradles lightly and doesn't even cover completely. Ice water, rice flour, salt.

Are you dissing my tempura batter?!!!

That's fighting talk where I come from

S

Simon dear, it's just not traditional tempura, which I prefer. It's like Western folk adding onion to miso shiru. That's not miso shiru. I'll add miso to an onion soup but never onion to miso soup. The egg white in particular makes the batter fluffy and luscious. So it's great for fish and chip kind of things. But t'ain't tempura, really.

[Wilfrid]

What's in your traditional tempura batter, Jin? - and apologies if you've told us before.

[Simon Majumdar]

Soda water and egg white make a very voluptuous tempura batter. Trotter does this. But I usually prefer a simpler, more austere batter for tempura that doesn't make the crust and batter the point but just cradles lightly and doesn't even cover completely. Ice water, rice flour, salt.

Are you dissing my tempura batter?!!!

That's fighting talk where I come from

S

Simon dear, it's just not traditional tempura, which I prefer. It's like Western folk adding onion to miso shiru. That's not miso shiru. I'll add miso to an onion soup but never onion to miso soup. The egg white in particular makes the batter fluffy and luscious. So it's great for fish and chip kind of things. But t'ain't tempura, really.

Fluffy & Luscious!?

Them's still fighting words

S

[Miss J]

I just use egg, ice water, and rice flour in my tempura batter. And when I make dipping sauce, I often go more Chinese than Japanese by using black vinegar as well as light soy sauce and sesame oil.

I seem to end up with quite a thin batter coating on my tempura, in spite of my (unorthodox?) use of egg. Which may well be because I'm just not as good at coaxing volume out of eggs as Jin and Simon are. (Sigh)

I wish I'd paid more attention to what my hostmother did when I was in Yokohama in my youth. She turned out incredible light, crispy, greaseless tempura from a kitchen that couldn't have given her more than 3 feet of workspace.