Skip to main content
Donate

Pearl River Deli's 15-Minute Black Bean Basil Clams

An ornate plate with intricate patterned designs around the edge is full of Manila clams lathered in a thin coating of a brown, glossy thick sauce. Bright green basil is incorporated as pops of color throughout the dish. A large ladle scoops more onto the plate.
Black bean basil clams, a popular dish at Pearl River Deli. | Ryan Tanaka
Johnny Lee of Pearl River Deli, a Cantonese kitchen serving up classics like Hainan chicken, shares a quick 15-minute recipe for their popular and well-loved black bean basil clams.
February 15, 2022
Support Provided By

Black Bean Basil Clams

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs of clams (Manila clams work best)
  • 4 tablespoons rice wine or sake
  • 2 tablespoons sauté oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon jarred black bean garlic sauce
  • 1 cup Thai basil (ideally one cup, but can be adjusted to taste)
  • salt to taste
  • pepper of choice (chili, jalapeño or bell pepper, if avoiding spice)

Directions

  1. In a wok or sauté pan heat about a cup of water or just enough so that clams aren't sitting on dry parts of the pan. Add rice wine or sake to the water.
  2. When the mixture comes to a boil, add 2 pounds of clams to the pan and cover with a lid until clams start to open.
  3. When clams start to open, remove lid and add oil, garlic, black bean sauce, chilis and half of the Thai basil.
  4. Stir fry on high heat until all clams are coated in the sauce.
  5. Add salt to taste.
  6. Turn off heat and add in the other half of the Thai basil. Toss in the residual heat before serving.
  7. Enjoy!

Attribution

This recipe is courtesy of Johnny Lee of Pearl River Deli.

Support Provided By
Up Next

Bé Ù's Vietnamese-Inspired Steamed Lemongrass Clams

Steamed manila clams surround a small metal dish with a dark-colored dipping sauce and bits of chopped ginger and garlic floating up top.

Returning to Chinatown

Returning to Chinatown

Weekend Recipe: Crispy Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Photo courtesy of America's Test Kitchen
Read More
Shrimp ceviche sits over a black tostada and is topped with chopped cucumber, red peppers, fresh green herbs and seaweed.

5 Places to Eat and Drink Like a Local in Tijuana

We asked Chef José "Joe" Figueroa of el Casimiro to share some of his favorite places to eat and drink around Tijuana, a multicultural city with an ever-evolving food scene.
By Cynthia Rebolledo
Plastic chairs are arranged in a room spaced apart. People sit in them and face the front where a woman is standing in front of a projector, speaking to the group. Behind the presenter is a colorful mural.

How to Support Migrant Families, Wherever You Are

Espacio Migrante director and founder, Paulina Olvera Cáñez, shares five ways we can help support immigrant communities, whether we're at home or on location.
By Cynthia Rebolledo
Lilian Meija and José Aguilar stand in front of a mural. The mural features a face painted in blue with strong, dark eyebrows, full lips and determined eyes. A band goes across the face's head with the words "Honduras" over it. To the left of the blue face is a multicolored guacamaya, or macaw. To the right of the blue face is half of a woman's face with large eyes, long eyelashes, full red lips and strong cheekbones.

A Taste of Home: How Tijuana's Honduras 504 Provides Comfort for Migrant Families

Since migrating to Tijuana in 2011, Chef Lilian Mejía's restaurant Honduras 504 has become a touchstone and safe place for Tijuana's growing Honduran community — and has expanded the city's culinary offerings along the way.
By Cynthia Rebolledo