Reminisce fun with Halaan (Clam)

When I was a kid, me and my playmates used to jump into the river and let the waves carried us to the sea. It was really enjoyable to do it over and over. As soon as we reached the shoreline, sometime during low tide, we dug in to find halaan (clam) and brought it home as our lunch.

 

A rejuvenating shore in Alluring Albay

Back in those days, my friend's mother always cooked those sea shells deliciously even though without any use of oyster sauce. The sauce was not available in the place we lived in (perhaps not popular). Her most common way of cooking was to sautee and stew it.

 

Dine and Crave for it!

With the halaan I made, I cooked it differently with a twist of an Asian touch. I did this dish to maximize the use of oyster sauce and suit local and foreign taste buds.

Halaan in Oyster sauce

50ml vegetable oil
1 small red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic cloves, minced
2tsp ginger, minced
water, as needed
400g of halaan (clam), shells intact, cleaned
50ml water
2T oyster sauce
2 long chillies, red, seeds removed, thinly sliced
1 long chillies, red, seeds not removed, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 soy sauce
1 cup kangkong (water crest) leaves

Garnish:
long chillies, red, seeds removed
spring onion
pan-dried onion

Methods:
Sautee onion, garlic and ginger for 2 minutes over medium heat. Avoid browning. Add clams. Add water to produce a steam. Stir slowly and continuously until more liquid comes out from clams or its shells are opened. With the presence of liquid, season with oyster sauce, chillies, sugar and soy sauce. Stir to distribute flavor. Add in kangkong. Continue stirring until the vegetable is cooked and liquid is reduced. Garnish with red long chillies, spring onion, and pan-dried onion on top. Serve.