Hue rice with baby clams is all about balance: cold rice, clams stir fried until firm, a basket of shredded raw vegetables and a strong bowl of mam ruoc. It is mixed and eaten right away, and the more crunchy elements the better. The hardest part is the clams, since a few seconds too slow and they shrink and toughen.
The clams are blanched, then seasoned so the flavor sinks in, and at the pan they only need a quick toss over high heat before the burner goes off. The shredded vegetables must be squeezed really dry, because any water left makes the rice soggy and thins out the mam ruoc.
This batch weighs about 1.2kg, at roughly 89 calories per 100g.
Method
Bring 1 bowl of water, about 200ml, to a boil with bruised ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt, blanch 200g baby clam meat briefly and drain. Season the clams with 1 teaspoon MSG, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon seasoning powder.
Cut 30g shredded banana blossom short. Slice the bac ha and star fruit thinly, rub with salt, rinse and squeeze dry. Finely chop the herbs, which are mint, Thai basil and Vietnamese coriander. Blanch 100g bean sprouts briefly.
Heat 1 tablespoon annatto oil and toss the peanuts in it with a pinch of salt until fragrant.
Heat 2 tablespoons rendered lard, fry the minced shallot and garlic until fragrant, add the clams and stir fry until firm, scatter over spring onion and 1/3 teaspoon minced chili, then turn off the heat.
Mix the mam ruoc: stir 2 teaspoons mam ruoc with 4 tablespoons hot water, 1/2 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and minced garlic and chili, then bring it to a boil.
Put 2 bowls of cold rice in a serving bowl, arrange the shredded vegetables, blanched bean sprouts, pork cracklings, roasted peanuts and stir fried clams on top, scatter over toasted sesame seeds, pour on the mam ruoc and mix well.
Tips
Stir fry the clams fast and turn off the heat, since overcooked clams shrink and toughen.
Squeeze every drop out of the shredded vegetables so the rice stays dry and the mam ruoc coats each grain.
Loose cold rice mixes better than freshly cooked rice, which wilts the vegetables on contact.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so stir the mam ruoc, leave it for 5 minutes and stir again before heating.
Mam ruoc poured on while still warm smells better than cold.
Add the pork cracklings and peanuts last to keep them crisp.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.