Vietnamese soups are often a mix of a vegetable with meat or seafood, and this one pairs water spinach (ong choy) with basil clams. The clams are opened first in a little water with ginger, and that cooking liquid becomes the broth: the clams give it its sweetness, and the water spinach brings a crisp, fresh bite. If you like ginger, add a few more slices to the soup. Ingredients 400 g basil clams 200 g water spinach (ong choy) 1 small piece of ginger Salt Sugar (optional) How to make water spinach and clam soup 1. Clean the clams and prepare the greens Scrub the clam shells carefully, then soak the clams in cold water for about 30 minutes. Wash them again afterwards to make sure they’re all clean. Peel the ginger and slice it thinly. Wash the water spinach in salted water, then pick it into short sprigs. 2. Open the clams and keep the liquid This is the step that makes the soup. Put the clams in a pot with some of the sliced ginger and pour in water until it just reaches the top of the clams. Boil until the shells open, then turn off the heat. Lift the clams out of the pot and let them cool. Pick out the meat and discard the shells, or leave the meat in its shells if you prefer. Keep the cooking liquid: don’t throw it away, because it’s your broth. 3. Cook the soup Pour 2 bowls of the clam liquid into a pot with some sliced ginger and bring it to the boil. When it boils, add the water spinach, then the clam meat, a little salt and sugar if you like. Let it come back to the boil, taste and adjust the seasoning, then turn off the heat. Ladle it into a large bowl and eat it hot. Share:
