Sautéing Fresh Clams in Spicy XO Sauce: A Tale of My Uncle from TaiShan (台山)

Ingredients

• 500g fresh clams in shells, cleaned
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp. XO sauce
• 1/2 cup white wine
• a few stems of green shallot, sliced
• some coriander, sliced
• 1 chilli, seeds removed, sliced
• cooking oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Method

• In a frying pan, heat up some cooking oil (very hot); add sliced onion and xo sauce; sauté briefly until aromatic
• Add clams and half a cup of white wine; put a lid on for a few minutes
• The clams are cooked when the shells are open; add sliced shallot, coriander, chili, salt & pepper to taste, toss and ready to serve.

The life story of my uncle from Taishan (台山)

These lovely clams reminded me my first clam experience, a dish made by my uncle’s family who live in the countryside of Taishan, Guangdong province in China.

My mother and my uncle ‘Fai’ were children of a concubine who married an elderly man who returned to China after years of hard labouring in Malaysia. Tragically, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, their parents passed away due to financial hardship. For reasons that were never fully explained to me, our family found itself at odds with some influential locals who wielded significant power. When my uncle, at the tender age of about 7, was accused of being a Japanese traitor, he was sent to prison. Upon his eventual release, he was in such a debilitated and sickly state that he had to be carried out of the prison. Unfortunately, he was never quite the same after that ordeal.

During one school holiday, I was sent to stay with my uncle’s family in their village in Taishan. My uncle was a man of few words, not particularly sharp, but he worked tirelessly and always wore a smile. He was incredibly thin and appeared perpetually unwell. With financial support sent by another uncle from Singapore, he had been able to marry a kind, strong, capable, and hardworking woman. Together, they had three children. As rice farmers, they struggled to provide enough rice for me to eat during my visit. To help, I brought them food stamps, some money, and even some old clothes, all of which they cherished deeply.

The oldest son, Zhong, was a few years my junior, and he took on the task of procuring ingredients for our lunches and dinners. Together, we ventured into the rice fields armed with threads and potato pieces to catch frogs in the water. We explored the creek, sifting through the mud to uncover tiny clams. When mealtime arrived, we relished the small frogs, bones and all, and savoured a humble bowl of delicious clams. I can still vividly recall the contented expressions that adorned the children’s faces at the conclusion of each meal. They never uttered a single complaint and consistently maintained high spirits.

As the economy began to flourish in the 1980s, the rice fields were leased for the construction of factories. While the villages benefited from the additional income, there was no longer any land available for farming. In response, my uncle turned to collecting soft drink bottles and used the proceeds to purchase snacks. The villagers affectionately referred to him as the happiest bottle collector in town.

As I savoured this delightful New Zealand clam dish with XO sauce, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of happiness and sadness.

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