Ilove steamed clams, and consider them to be one of the unsung heroes of weeknight cooking. No matter how you dress them up, clams come together in under half an hour, but look and taste like you spent way more time and work on them.
Ingredients
2 pounds littleneck clams (about 36)
1/2 medium shallot
2 cloves garlic
2 medium scallions
1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger
1 small bunch spinach (about 2 1/2 ounces)
3 tablespoons refined coconut oil
1 tablespoon prik khing curry paste, such as Maesri
1/2 cup cup water
Kosher salt
Instructions
Scrub 2 pounds littleneck clams. Finely chop 1/2 medium shallot and 2 garlic cloves. Thinly slice 2 medium scallions, keeping the whites and greens separate. Peel a 3-inch piece of ginger. Finely chop 1 inch of the ginger. Cut the remaining 2-inch piece into matchsticks. Trim and coarsely chop 1 bunch spinach (about 3 loosely packed cups).
Heat 3 tablespoons coconut oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallot, garlic, chopped ginger, and scallion whites, and cook until tender and translucent, about 4 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high. Add 1 tablespoon prik khing curry paste and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil.
Add the clams and stir to coat in the curry mixture. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the clams begin to pop open, about 8 minutes. Transfer the opened clams to a serving bowl and tent with aluminum foil. If some haven’t opened yet, cover and continue cooking. Remove and discard any clams that have not opened after 5 more minutes cooking time.
Add the spinach to the pot and cook until wilted. Return the clams to the pot and stir to combine. Taste and season with kosher salt if needed. Sprinkle with the scallion greens and ginger matchsticks and serve.
