Stir fried Chinese Cockles

After a few years of not eating cockles (also known as clams or pipis), I finally had the opportunity to cook some stir fried Chinese cockles last night. It is very hard for me find fresh cockles for sale in South Australia. Residing in a country town in regional South Australia has made it even harder for me to find these beauties. During my recent trip to Adelaide, I managed to find some fresh cockles for sale at a pretty reasonable price. Immediately, I decided to satisfy my craving and buy some cockles to make some stir fried Chinese cockles.

This stir fried Chinese cockles recipe is modified based on a recipe I found at http://madamkwong.com. I did not measure the ingredients as I made the dish based on my instincts and adjusted the taste while cooking.

Stir Fried Chinese Cockles

Stir Fried Chinese Cockles

Ingredients: 

Approx 500g cockles/clams/pipis
3 canned pineapple rings (cut into cubes)
1 tbsp fermented soy beans, crushed
3 pips of chopped garlic
1-2 tbsp plum sauce
Dash of sweet/hot chilli sauce
1-3 sliced dynamite chillies/thai chillies
Some water and diluted cornstarch for the sauce
Salt and sugar to taste  

Method:

Heat frying pan with some oil. Add in the sliced chillies and chopped garlic. Fry until garlic is slightly golden in colour. Add the plum sauce and chilli sauce. Then add in the canned pineapple. Put some water in the pan. Season sauce with salt and sugar. Then thicken slightly with diluted cornstarch (a mixture of cornstarch and some water). Lastly, throw in the cockles/clams/pipis. Adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding more water, diluted cornstarch, chilli sauce, salt or sugar.

Cook until the cockles/clams/pipis shells are opened. This means they are cooked. Do not overcook as cockles/clams/pipis get cooked very quickly.

There you have – Stir Fried Chinese Cockles.