Clam Nage with Straw and Enoki Mushrooms

Recipe by: Amy Farges | from The Mushroom Lover's Mushroom Cookbook and Primer

Cookstr

Course: Hot Appetizer, Main Course

Total Time: Under 1 Hour

Skill Level: Easy

Cost: Inexpensive

clam-nage-with-straw-and-enoki-mushrooms

Photo by: Joseph De Leo

The mingling of seafood and vegetables in a tangy broth opens up the senses and restores the soul. To turn this broth into an Asian-style soup/meal, serve it over jasmine rice.

Yield: Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

4 cups Light Chicken Stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 stalk of lemon grass; white part only, coarsely chopped and tied in a cheesecloth bundle
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
2 scallions (white parts only), cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1¼ pounds (12 to 18) littleneck clams
1 small (about 8 ounces) head of bok choy
4 ounces straw, honshimeji, or shiitake mushrooms
1½ ounces enoki
½ ripe tomato
Kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Bring the stock, lemon grass, red pepper, shallot, and scallions to a boil in a large nonreactive pot. Reduce the heat and simmer, skimming any foam from the surface, for 30 minutes.

2. Scrub the clams under cold running water. Rinse the bok choy, shake dry, and trim off the white ends. Slice crosswise into ¼-inch-wide ribbons. Leave straw mushrooms or honshimeji whole but stem, then slice shiitake caps, if using, ¼-inch thick. Trim the stem ends off the enoki and separate the clusters. Core the tomato, remove the seeds, and cut the pulp into ¼-inch strips.

3. Remove the lemon grass bundle from the broth. Bring broth back to a boil. Add the clams and straw mushrooms, cover, and reduce the heat to medium. Steam the clams until they open, about 3 minutes. Stir often to give all the clams a chance to open. Any that do not open should be discarded.

4. Stir in the bok choy, and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the enoki, and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato strips. Season to taste with salt, top with the cilantro leaves, arid serve.

Variation: To serve over jasmine rice, spoon about 1 cup cooked jasmine rice into each of 2 bowls. Transfer the soup solids with a slotted spoon, top each serving with cilantro leaves, and spoon the broth over all.

Editor's Note

Nutritional includes 1 teaspoon of added salt. Nutritional information does not include Light Chicken Stock. For nutritional information on Light Chicken Stock, please follow the link above.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutrients per serving (% daily value)

Calories 89kcal (4%)

Sodium 1499mg (62%)

Total Carbohydrate 13g

Fiber 4g

Fat 1g (2%)

Trans Fat 0g

Saturated Fat 0g (0%)

Monounsaturated Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0g

Cholesterol 14mg (5%)