A comforting coastal delicacy made with tender kube (fresh clams). They are gently simmered in creamy coconut milk. The dish is flavored with garlic, ginger, onions, and a touch of chili.
Coconut milk gives a rich flavor especially with a combination of seafood and spices. Fresh clams in coconut milk is one of the favorite recipes you will love from the Asian cuisine.
After my first try at cooking clams (kube), I wanted to create a curry. It needed to pair perfectly with rice. This time, we headed to the wet market earlier than usual, around 9 a.m. on Saturday, to pick up fresh clams. I was amazed by the wide variety of shellfish available! They were selling out quickly, and most were already gone. The fishmonger, who only sold shellfish, mentioned that I should have come even earlier. Apparently, arriving earlier would have given me the chance to see an even greater variety of fresh sea shells. I was still late to catch all the varieties—what a surprise! I haven’t seen these shells being sold even in my hometown. Although I lived all my childhood near the sea, I was stunned and excited at the same time.
But I was not too late to grab my fresh clams after all. Lucky us! This time I found clams with a size slightly bigger in size than the ones I bought the last time.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
Fresh clams – 1 kg, cleaned (*see here)
Olive oil / Butter – 1 tbsp
Shallots – 2, finely chopped
Garlic – 3 cloves, minced
Ginger – 1-inch piece, grated
Tomatoes – 2, finely chopped
Fish curry powder / Fish powder – 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Coconut milk – 200 ml
Water – 1 to 2 cups, depending on consistency
Salt
Coriander leaves for garnish (finely chopped)
Directions
1. Heat a heavy-bottomed container with oil or butter on medium-high. Fry onion till translucent for a few minutes. Add in chopped garlic and ginger. I used ginger paste as fresh ginger was out of stock.
2. Fry the garlic and ginger for a few seconds then add tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes until slightly mushy or saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the seafood powder or fish powder and mix.
3. Pour the coconut milk, turmeric powder and salt. Add 1 cup water depending on the thickness consistency for the curry.
Simmer for few minutes and check for salt. Add more if necessary.
4. Add the clams and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 5 – 8 minutes covered on medium heat.
Check to see if all the clams have opened. All of the clams will open by this time. Check for salt.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice or bread. Enjoy!
Spicy Clam Recipe – Mangalorean Style (DRY)
Flower Crab – Curry (Mangalorean Recipe)
Fresh Clams in Coconut Milk (Kube)
Ingredients
- Fresh clams cleaned
- 1 tbsp Olive oil / Butter
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 2 Tomatoes finely chopped
- 3 tbsp Fish curry powder / Fish powder optional
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- 200 ml Coconut milk (fresh or canned)
- 1 cup Water
- Salt
- Coriander leaves chopped, for garnish
Instructions
Cleaning the Clams
- Clean the clams thoroughly under running water, scrubbing the shells to remove sand and grit.
- Soak in salted water for 20 minutes to expel any remaining sand, then rinse again.
Cook the aromatics:
- Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat.
- Fry onion till translucent
- Add in chopped garlic and ginger. Sauté until fragrant.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until softened.
- Stir in the fish curry powder (or fish powder), turmeric powder and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously to release the spices' aroma.
- Pour in the coconut milk, and gently stir.
- Add the cleaned clams to the pan and mix well. Pour in 1 to 2 cups of water (depending on the consistency you want). Cover and cook for 5–8 minutes until the clams start opening.
- Remove from heat and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with steamed rice or bread.
