Covid-19 stay-home recipe: Garlicky cockles

Wondering what to cook today? In this daily series, STFood Online Editor Hedy Khoo whips up easy eats to try at home

Garlicky cockles. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
Place the cockles in a heat-proof dish. ST PHOTOS: HEDY KHOO
In a wok or pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the garlic, shallots, chilli padi and red finger chilli. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
Add the spring onion and cook for another 10 seconds. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

I love to eat cockles the old-fashioned way, by boiling them and enjoying them with spicy sambal belacan.

Prising them open can be a tedious task, though. But there is a more convenient way to enjoy them. You can get raw shucked cockles on the half shell. They are sold frozen, but taste fresh once you are done defrosting and cooking them.

Dousing them in Shaoxing wine, followed by a spicy garlic dressing, makes this humble shellfish a touch fancier and tastier. Adjust the amount of garlic and chilli to suit your preference. Instead of using salt, use some light soya sauce and a pinch of sugar for sweetness.

Steaming the cockles for one minute leaves them slightly bloody. If you like them a little more cooked, I suggest switching off the fire after a minute, but leaving them in the steamer to cook in the residual heat for 20 seconds.

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INGREDIENTS

500g raw cockles on half shell

4 Tbs Shaoxing wine

40ml cooking oil

30g garlic cloves, chopped

30g shallots, chopped

3 chilli padi, finely minced

1 red finger chilli, minced

½ tsp salt

2 stalks of spring onion, finely sliced

METHOD

1. Place the cockles in a heat-proof dish (photo 1).

2. Drizzle 2 Tbs of Shaoxing wine over the cockles. Steam for one minute.

3. Transfer the cockles to a clean serving dish, discarding the residual liquid from steaming. Set aside.

4. In a wok or pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the garlic, shallots, chilli padi and red finger chilli (photo 2).

5. Lower the heat and let the mixture cook for 30 seconds.

6. Add the rest of the Shaoxing wine and season with salt.

7. Add the spring onion and cook for another 10 seconds (photo 3).

8. Drizzle the garlic mixture over the steamed cockles. Serve immediately.

Serves two to three

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 30, 2020, with the headline Comfort cooking: Garlicky cockles. Subscribe