Kam Heong Lala Clams

Stir-fried Lala Clams in Kam Heong Sauce

I have an excess of curry leaves and decided to stir fry lala clams kam heong style – a truly Malaysian dish. Kam heong (金香) is Cantonese dialect and literally translate as “golden fragrance”. The spice blend includes dried shrimps, curry powder, shallots and garlic. This sauce is frequently used to stir fry crabs, chicken, prawns and in this recipe, lala clams. The aroma of the curry powder and curry leaves really stand out in this dish. I literally lick the sauce off the shells, so good. Lala clams is cheap (I paid about $3 for 1kg) and fast to cook (about 2 minutes), so it’s really economical to cook this at home as compared to ordering it outside.

Ingredients
(Serves 2-3)
- 1kg “lala” clams (may substitute with any type of local clams)
- 2 tbsp dried shrimps (虾米/hay bee/heibi)
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 slices ginger, minced
- 2 chilli padi, sliced thinly (adjust or omit to taste)
- 1/2 tbsp taucheo (soy bean paste/豆酱), slightly pounded
- 4 sprigs of curry leaves
- cornstarch solution: dissolve 1 tsp cornstarch in 2 tsp water

Directions
1. Scrub the lala clams thoroughly with a hard brush. Soak the clams in salted water for at least an hour for the clams to purge out sand and impurities. Drain the water, rinse the clams and set aside.
2. Rinse dried shrimps in water, then soak them in 1/4 cup hot water until softened. Pat dry the dried shrimps on kitchen towels and chop finely. Combine soaking water with curry powder to form a paste.
3. Heat cooking oil in wok. Stir fry chopped dried shrimps for 1 minute. Then add the shallots, garlic, ginger, chilli, taucheo and curry leaves. Stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add washed clams and curry paste prepared in step 2 to the wok. Stir fry for a brief moment to coat the clams in the sauce, then cover with lid to let the clams steam for about 2 minutes, until all or most of the shells are opened.  Discard any shells that remain closed.  Thicken the sauce with cornstarch solution.

Cooking Note
1. Do not overcook the clams, other wise they will taste rubbery/chewy.
2. If you do not have taucheo, you can substitute to taste with some light soy sauce.

Check out all lala clams recipes.

Ingredients Used chilli padi • cornstarch • curry leaf • curry powder • dried shrimp • garlic • ginger • lala clams • shallot • shellfish • tau cheo