Clams in Roasted Chili Sauce
Hoy Lai Pad Prik Pao
Clams stir-fried in smoky roasted chili sauce with basil
- Prep
- 2 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Serves
- 4
- Heat
- medium
Clams take well to bold sauces, and this one leans on nam prik pao, a smoky-sweet roasted chili paste that's a staple in Thai kitchens, to do most of the flavor work. The clams cook fast in garlicky oil until their shells pop, then get coated in a sauce built around that chili paste, loosened with a splash of water into something glossy and clingy. A generous handful of Thai sweet basil, stirred in only after the heat is off, wilts gently rather than cooking through, keeping its anise-like flavor bright against the rich, smoky sauce.
Ingredients
- 2.35 lb Sea clams (scrubbed clean)
- 2 2/3 cups Thai sweet basil (leaves and flower tops)
- 9 Thai long chilies (sliced diagonally)
- 8 Garlic, large cloves (lightly crushed)
- 5 1/3 tablespoons Thai roasted chili sauce (nam prik pao)
- 2 2/3 tablespoons Oyster sauce
- 5 1/3 teaspoons Light soy sauce
- 2 2/3 teaspoons Sugar
Directions
- Scrub the clams clean. Slice the chili diagonally, lightly crush the garlic, and pick the basil leaves and flower tops.
- Heat oil in a large wok (steel or cast iron, not non-stick) over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry just until it starts to color.
- Add the clams and stir into the garlic. Cook, turning often, until the shells start to pop open, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the roasted chili sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Stir well and let the sugar melt into a sticky coating on the clams.
- Once the pan looks dry and sticky, add a splash of water and stir to loosen the sauce. Cook until hot and bubbly again, about a minute.
- Add the sliced chili and stir in. Cook about another minute until everything is hot through.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the basil, letting it wilt in the residual heat rather than cooking it directly.
- Serve with a generous portion of steamed rice, garnished with basil flower tops if you have them.
Notes
Discard any clams that don't open during cooking — they were likely dead before going into the pan and aren't safe to eat.
Substitutions
Green mussels or other similar shellfish work well in place of clams. Use a steel wok or cast iron pan rather than non-stick, since clam shells can scratch non-stick coatings.