Tuatua – NZ Clams
Our clams are among the best in the world.
This is how we cook a feed of tuatua.
INGREDIENTS:
Tuatua (Clams),
Onion (red). We didn’t have a red onion today so we substituted with a brown onion.
Corriander,
Basil,
Apple cider vinegar,
Raw sugar,
Lemon juice,
Chili pepper
METHOD:
Be sure when you get your tuatua that you keep them overnight in a bucket of sea-water. Overnight the tuatua will spit out any sand that they have inside them.
If you have time and access to sea water you can change the water in the morning and leave for a few more hours. Remove any dead tuatua. You can easily identify the ones that are alive, just leave the bucket for a while without disturbing them and the alive ones will come out of their shells.
Finely chop your onion, coriander, basil & chili.
Put these all together into a medium sized bowl.
Add a good pour of Apple cider vinegar and a the juice of 1 lemon.
Mix your ingredients together, cover with cling wrap and place into the fridge while you prepare your tuatua (clams).
Today we are using a large frying pan and boiling water.
If you have a vegetable steamer you should use this to steam open your clams.
Either way you want to put your tuatua in while they are alive.
You should keep the water on a rolling boil.
As soon as the tuatua are open you want to remove them so they do not over cook.
Put your cooked tuatua on a plate to cool and remove them from the shell.
Scoop out the tuatua using a spoon and pop them straight into your onion dressing.
Mix them all together, cover with cling wrap and put back into the fridge.
Serve chilled.