Last fall I visited New England in the American Northeast, and had a real seafood journey! I tasted many of their local specialties in restaurants, things like clam chowder, lobster roll, and fried clams. I also bought fresh seafood and made my own Korean style seafood dishes with local ingredients and filmed some videos.
I really felt like some vegetables, too, so I made bok choy muchim and made a video for it. One of the dishes that made a cameo was this clam stew, and I was surprised by my viewers’ reactions.
“Maangchi, how did you make that clam stew? Please share the recipe with us!”
I thought it was kind of funny because they seemed more interested in the clam stew than they were in the bok choy muchim!
So here’s the recipe! I used Maryland clams in this video, and local Portland, Maine clams in my bok choy muchim video, but any good quality fresh clams will work well. I prefer hard shell clams around 2 inches long, sometimes called “littleneck” clams in the US.
Of course, the real key to this soup is the savory, slightly sweet anchovy and radish broth which is full of umami and delicious, even before we add the clams!
Many people asked for this recipe, I really wanted to post it before the year ended. This is my last video for 2014! Be happy and healthy and see you in 2015!
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 kilogram (a little more than 2 pounds) clams
- 5 ounces Korean radish (or daikon), sliced thinly: 1 inch x 1 inch x 1/8 inch thick
- 1 small onion (about ¾ cup), sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 large dried anchovies, guts and heads removed
- 1 green chili pepper, chopped
- 1 green onion, chopped
- a pinch of ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- water
How to clean clams:
- Rinse the clams in cold water and pick out any opened clams, which are dead. Scrub them in cold water and rinse a few times until clean.
- In a bowl, stir 1 tablespoon kosher salt into 4 cups of water. Add the clams and cover. Keep in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Strain the clams and rinse and drain in cold water a couple of times. Strain again.
Make soup:
- Put the radish, onion, garlic, and dried anchovies in a shallow pan or pot. Add 3 cups of water. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over medium high heat until the radish looks a little translucent and the broth looks slightly amber in color.
- Take out the anchovies with tongs or chopsticks.
- Add the clams and cover. Cook until all the clams start opening.
- Open the lid and move opened clams to the top of the soup, and unopened to the bottom so that unopened clams get cooked in the hot broth. Ladle some broth from bottom to top to keep everything well seasoned.
- When the all clams are opened, sprinkle the chopped green chili pepper and green onion.
- Remove from the heat and add some ground black pepper and toasted sesame oil. Serve with rice.
Mitbanchan: (side dishes prepared in advance and kept in the fridge for 1 to 2 weeks) that go well with clam stew
Kimchi
Hi Maangchi! Do I also put the anchovy heads or not? Thanks.
This was ‘off the hook’ delicious! The radish made for a sweetness that complimented the clam flavor. This has replaced our favorite steamed clam recipe using white wine. But, Maagchi, you made a mistake. This recipe does not feed 4 — it only feeds 2 if the sides are steamed rice and your radish kimchi.
(*^_^*)
I am so impressed with the Korean radish it now has a place in my garden. Never knew it existed before seeing your kimchi videos. I got the seeds from Kitazawa Seed Co. They specialize in Asian seeds. Many kinds of K radishes. Some radishes are best for spring/summer growing, some radishes are better for autumn growing.
haha! *^_^* Yes, Korean radish is always sitting in my fridge because it makes all types of soup or stew delicious. Good luck with your gardening!
This sounds really delicious food to enjoy.
This is really an excellent seafood dish which is quite easy to make with fantastic taste. I will definitely try to make this delicious dish.
Ooooh Maangchi! I just finished a pot of your clam stew – all by myself! (my boyfriend doesn’t like clams, haha) I used mussles instead but it was just as delicous. And guess what: When I chewed one of the mussles I bit onto something small and hard… and it was a teeny tiny crab swallowed by the mussle! I’ll call him Sylvester and keep him as a pet, hahaha!
Thanks for the recipe and a Happy New Year!
Hi Maangchi, I made this recipe tonight, 1/1/2015, and it was a hit. I am Korean but have never had Korean clams. I used a combo of littlenecks and manila clams. It’s the first time I have ever bought and cooked live clams.
You made this stew on Jan.1st! “I used a combo of littlenecks and manila clams.” awesome!
Hi Maangchi – Thanks for the very scrumptions and refreshing recipe!
I have a question whether I can substitute the clams with the mussles.
Thanks and wish you all the very best in the New Year!
yes, you can use mussels in this recipe. It’s called hong-hap-tang. Honghap means mussels in Korean. Happy New Year to you and your family, too.
This is one of my most favorite Korean dishes. My mother would add spinach. I am going to make this recipe this weekend. Thank you Maangchi. BTW, all my Korean-American friends who love food enjoy your videos and recipes and marvel at how simple you make the process. We all recall our mothers working much harder at this, with basically the same result in the end. Happy New Year.
Thank you very much! You still make delicious Korean food with my recipes! You must be missing your mom. Happy New Year!
that was so delicious maangchi. i will try it soon :)refreshing food.