Vietnamese Ginger Clam & Rice Soup- “Chao Hen”

Vietnamese clam chao is super savory, comforting and delicious. Fresh New Zealand cockles/clams are simmered in an aromatic rice soup garnished with fresh coriander, scallions, ginger and Thai red chilis. 

If you’re not familiar with chao, it’s a Vietnamese rice porridge.  You may know it by its Chinese equivalent, congee.  In Vietnam chao is not only a common breakfast meal but it’s also a popular lunch and dinner meal too. 

Every Vietnamese family has their own chao recipe and in our household we typically use a 50/50 fresh blend of jasmine and sweet rice to get that perfectly sticky and thick porridge-like consistency.  

However, I recently found a rice that makes the perfect chao from the rice factory NEW YORK.  Making chao with their premium white Japanese sushi rice, Koshihikari, produced in Shibata-City, Niigata.  Using this sushi rice makes it so easy because their rice is extremely fresh. 

Since we are using live clams we’ll need to purge the clams.  Clams live in sand at the bottom of the ocean floor and they contain sand and grit within their shells. Removing/purging of the sand is necessary so you don’t end up with sand in your food. We’ll be creating a salt water soak for the clams that is equivalent to their sea water environment, a solution that has 3.5% salinity. 

About the rice factory NEW YORK:  

I love the rice factory NEW YORK because they specialize in the finest and freshest Japanese rice.  They do this by being fully transparent and carefully selecting their rice producers in Japan.  You can actually find out where in Japan your rice is grown and by whom.  

Don’t buy that rice that has been sitting at your grocery store for who knows how long.  With the Rice Factory,  they mill rice as orders come in and they transport and store their rice in optimal conditions to guarantee freshness.  For more information click -here-.

CHAO HEN RECIPE

2-3 lb live clams (I used 3 lbs of New Zealand Cockles, 1 lb for the chao, and another 2 lbs as a separate side dish of clams)

4 tbs sea salt

8 cups water

2 tbs oil

1 large knob ginger (julienned and peeled)

1 medium shallot onion (minced)

4 whole Thai chili peppers

1 tsp salt (reduce salt if using less clams) 

RICE/BROTH:

1 cup premium sushi rice from the rice factory NEW YORK

1 tbs oil 

6 cups water

White pepper

Sea salt

GARNISH:

Lime wedges

Scallions (cut thinly)

Cilantro/Coriander leaves (or thai basil)

1 Thai chili peppers

CHAO PREPARATION

1. In a large bowl rinse your rice with cold water, swish it around, and drain water.  Do this a couple times until the water runs clear.  Then drain in a fine colander until mostly dry. 

2. Heat up oil in a medium pot on med-high heat until glossy and hot.

2. Add rice and sauté until rice turns a little transparent and turns a little brown on the edges (stir frequently so the rice doesn't stick or burn on your pan).

3. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. 

4. After you hit a boil, immediately lower the heat to low simmer and let simmer until the rice grains bust open.  Add 1 cup of water after about 20 min and another cup of water after another 15 min.  After about 45 min you should have a thick congee-like consistency (almost like what cooked oatmeal looks like).  If it’s still a little runny, let it simmer a little without the lid for another 5-10 min. (Conversely, add more water if needed to thin out the chao mixture). 

*Make sure to stir the chao every 10-15 min so the rice doesn’t burn on the bottom of your pan.

6. When finished, add some of the clams along with it’s broth and ginger to the chao and mix gently, then adjust seasonings as needed with salt and white pepper.  Fish sauce is optional if you want to add a little now.

7. Remove from the burner and plate your bowls and garnish with some fresh cilantro, black pepper, red chili peppers and/or scallions. 

CLAM PREPARATION

1. Store your clams in the fridge for up to 24 hours in a bowl with a damp cloth over them.  

2. The day before or day that you want to cook your clams, you’ll need to purge the clams in cold water + sea salt (4 tbs sea salt to 8 cups water).  Use a large bowl or container to store these clams in, and just barely cover the clams with the seawater (about an inch or two above them).  Let them soak for at least 1-2 hours before use or even overnight (in the fridge).  Be sure to change out the water twice using the same salt/water ratio if soaking overnight.  Changing the water will provide them with fresh oxygenated water or else they’ll suffocate and die).  Do check on them to make sure they don’t die.

2. When ready to use the clams, scrub each clam and rinse them under cold running water and remove any dead clams (if clams are open, tap them on the counter or give them a lil squeeze, if they don’t close that means they are dead). 

2. Heat a large pan over high heat. Add oil until hot and glossy, add ginger and shallot onions and fry for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic but not browning.  Add 1 tsp salt and a little white pepper. 

3. Add water and sugar to the pot and mix well until all sugar is dissolved and boiling. 

4. Then add your clean drained clams and cover and steam until clams have opened and let come to boil and simmer/boil about 4-9 min.  After about 5 min, start removing all the opened clams and leaving in the unopened ones until they open. Discard any dead clams (these will be the clams that never open up) 

6. Transfer to bowl.  (Serve with lime or lemon wedges, garnish with cilantro, red chili, fresh ginger). 

8. Remove from heat.  Add the clam mixture into the chao, mix, and serve hot.