SO and I wanted to make another stab at recreating the clams in black
bean sauce served at one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle's
International District. As we were moseying by the test kitchen of our
local Central Market, I saw a book called "Potsticker Chronicles", by
Stuart Chang Berman. For grins, we looked inside and found a recipe for
mussels in black bean sauce with a variation for clams. SO put the book
in the cart. When we got over to the fish counter, we saw a sign that
clams were unavailable due to spawning season. [*&^%$#@! horny
bivalves.] However, the mussels were available. Hooboy, was that
recipe tasty! I think we have a keeper.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

Cindy Fuller wrote:
> SO and I wanted to make another stab at recreating the clams in black
> bean sauce served at one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle's
> International District. As we were moseying by the test kitchen of our
> local Central Market, I saw a book called "Potsticker Chronicles", by
> Stuart Chang Berman. For grins, we looked inside and found a recipe for
> mussels in black bean sauce with a variation for clams. SO put the book
> in the cart. When we got over to the fish counter, we saw a sign that
> clams were unavailable due to spawning season. [*&^%$#@! horny
> bivalves.] However, the mussels were available. Hooboy, was that
> recipe tasty! I think we have a keeper.
>
We love mussels! Don't s'pose you could share the recipe, or give me one
"in your own words"

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

In article >,
ChattyCathy > wrote:

> Cindy Fuller wrote:
> > SO and I wanted to make another stab at recreating the clams in black
> > bean sauce served at one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle's
> > International District. As we were moseying by the test kitchen of our
> > local Central Market, I saw a book called "Potsticker Chronicles", by
> > Stuart Chang Berman. For grins, we looked inside and found a recipe for
> > mussels in black bean sauce with a variation for clams. SO put the book
> > in the cart. When we got over to the fish counter, we saw a sign that
> > clams were unavailable due to spawning season. [*&^%$#@! horny
> > bivalves.] However, the mussels were available. Hooboy, was that
> > recipe tasty! I think we have a keeper.
> >
> We love mussels! Don't s'pose you could share the recipe, or give me one
> "in your own words"

I'll paraphrase it. Take about 2 lb (1 kg) mussels. Scrub and debeard
them. Discard any "yawners". Soak 2 tbsp. fermented dried black beans
in some water to desalt them. Rinse, drain, and mash. Stir 2 tbsp. dry
sherry, 2 tbsp. mushroom soy sauce, 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp.
Asian (dark) sesame oil, 6 cloves garlic, minced, and about 1 tbsp.
fresh ginger, minced. Set this aside. Heat a little oil in a wok. Add
mussels; stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add a little water; cover and steam
until mussels open all the way. Take the black bean mixture and toss it
with the mussels until heated through. (The original recipe didn't call
for a thickener, but SO added some cornstarch-water paste to thicken it.)

The novel items in the recipe, based on our experience, are the mushroom
soy sauce and vinegar.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

Cindy's infamous SO is here to add a couple of minor details and
corrections. Since I did most of the cooking on this one, she might
have missed or forgotten some things...

> I'll paraphrase it. Take about 2 lb (1 kg) mussels. Scrub and debeard
> them. Discard any "yawners". Soak 2 tbsp. fermented dried black beans
> in some water to desalt them.

I mashed the beans with a mortar and pestle and then added 2 tbsp. of
boiling water, let them soak for a few minutes, until softened. Then I
drained off most of the water and mashed them again.

Note that salted and fermented black beans are not the same as the dried
black beans used in American and Hispanic cooking. You can find them in
most Chinese groceries or in large supermarkets that carry ethnic items.

> Rinse, drain, and mash. Stir 2 tbsp. dry
> sherry, 2 tbsp. mushroom soy sauce, 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp.
> Asian (dark) sesame oil, 6 cloves garlic, minced, and about 1 tbsp.
> fresh ginger, minced. Set this aside.

It was 1 tbsp. dry sherry. And there was also 2 tsp. sugar.

I mixed the above ingredients into the beans, and mashed it again to get
it reasonably smooth.

> Heat a little oil in a wok. Add
> mussels; stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add a little water; cover and steam
> until mussels open all the way.

The recipe does not call for adding water. In fact, the mussels will
lose a lot of their own water during the frying and steaming. I had to
drain off some excess water to keep the sauce from getting diluted too
much.

> Take the black bean mixture and toss it
> with the mussels until heated through. (The original recipe didn't call
> for a thickener, but SO added some cornstarch-water paste to thicken it.)

The recipe also calls for tossing in 4 sliced scallions, just before
serving. We served the mussels over steamed rice.

> The novel items in the recipe, based on our experience, are the mushroom
> soy sauce and vinegar.

We've tried several other recipes for black bean sauce. Another
difference from those other versions is that this one calls for thorough
mashing of the beans. The mashing allows more of the salt to be rinsed
out of the beans, and the sauce has a smoother texture. The other
recipes produced sauces that were gritty/lumpy and the saltiness
dominated all the other flavors. This one had a nice balance of salty,
sweet, and savory flavors.

The book calls for 1 lb of mussels, for serving 2 to 3 people. But we
usually buy 2 lbs, to allow for the dead ones that get tossed. The
recipe can also be used with clams (which is how it is more commonly
seen in Chinese restaurants).

Really good stuff. If you get to Seattle, try the clams in black bean
sauce at Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant, in the International District.
That's the version that inspired our quest to duplicate this dish at
home.

--
Julian Vrieslander

On Aug 5, 9:34?pm, Julian Vrieslander
> wrote:
> Cindy's infamous SO is here to add a couple of minor details and
> corrections. Since I did most of the cooking on this one, she might
> have missed or forgotten some things...
>
> > I'll paraphrase it. Take about 2 lb (1 kg) mussels. Scrub and debeard
> > them. Discard any "yawners". Soak 2 tbsp. fermented dried black beans
> > in some water to desalt them.
>
> I mashed the beans with a mortar and pestle and then added 2 tbsp. of
> boiling water, let them soak for a few minutes, until softened. Then I
> drained off most of the water and mashed them again.
>
> Note that salted and fermented black beans are not the same as the dried
> black beans used in American and Hispanic cooking. You can find them in
> most Chinese groceries or in large supermarkets that carry ethnic items.
>
> > Rinse, drain, and mash. Stir 2 tbsp. dry
> > sherry, 2 tbsp. mushroom soy sauce, 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp.
> > Asian (dark) sesame oil, 6 cloves garlic, minced, and about 1 tbsp.
> > fresh ginger, minced. Set this aside.
>
> It was 1 tbsp. dry sherry. And there was also 2 tsp. sugar.
>
> I mixed the above ingredients into the beans, and mashed it again to get
> it reasonably smooth.
>
> > Heat a little oil in a wok. Add
> > mussels; stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add a little water; cover and steam
> > until mussels open all the way.
>
> The recipe does not call for adding water. In fact, the mussels will
> lose a lot of their own water during the frying and steaming. I had to
> drain off some excess water to keep the sauce from getting diluted too
> much.
>
> > Take the black bean mixture and toss it
> > with the mussels until heated through. (The original recipe didn't call
> > for a thickener, but SO added some cornstarch-water paste to thicken it.)
>
> The recipe also calls for tossing in 4 sliced scallions, just before
> serving. We served the mussels over steamed rice.
>
> > The novel items in the recipe, based on our experience, are the mushroom
> > soy sauce and vinegar.
>
> We've tried several other recipes for black bean sauce. Another
> difference from those other versions is that this one calls for thorough
> mashing of the beans. The mashing allows more of the salt to be rinsed
> out of the beans, and the sauce has a smoother texture. The other
> recipes produced sauces that were gritty/lumpy and the saltiness
> dominated all the other flavors. This one had a nice balance of salty,
> sweet, and savory flavors.
>
> The book calls for 1 lb of mussels, for serving 2 to 3 people. But we
> usually buy 2 lbs, to allow for the dead ones that get tossed. The
> recipe can also be used with clams (which is how it is more commonly
> seen in Chinese restaurants).
>
> Really good stuff. If you get to Seattle, try the clams in black bean
> sauce at Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant, in the International District.
> That's the version that inspired our quest to duplicate this dish at
> home.

This sounds really good, but... I think served over a big bowl of
oriental noodle will do more justice to this dish than rice.

Julian Vrieslander wrote:

<snipped for brevity>
>
> Really good stuff. If you get to Seattle, try the clams in black bean
> sauce at Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant, in the International District.
> That's the version that inspired our quest to duplicate this dish at
> home.
>
Thanks so much, you two. This sounds like a "must try".
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

In article . com>,
Sheldon > wrote:

> This sounds really good, but... I think served over a big bowl of
> oriental noodle will do more justice to this dish than rice.

That would work just fine. Cindy often uses noodles when she's vamping
on Chinese recipes. I tend to prefer rice.

--
Julian Vrieslander

In article . com>,
Sheldon > wrote:

The SO's missive snipped
>
> This sounds really good, but... I think served over a big bowl of
> oriental noodle will do more justice to this dish than rice.

I'm with you there, Sheldon. I might use yakisoba noodles, or maybe
rice noodles.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me