1 kg (2 lbs) medium clams in the shell or 200 g (6½ oz) fresh or canned clam meat
4 teaspoons sake
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin
½ tablespoon finely shredded fresh young ginger
6 cups freshly cooked Japanese rice
1 stalk spring onion (scallion), white part only, sliced in thin strips
Serves 4–5
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
1 Scrub clams with a brush, and soak in a large bowl of cold water for 5 minutes (if using clam meat, rinse in cold water, drain and set aside). Drain and rinse well.
2 Cook clams covered in a medium saucepan over high heat for 3–4 minutes or until shells open slightly, discarding any that do not open. Add a tablespoon of water if there is not enough liquid from the clams to form some steam. Drain and when cool enough to handle, remove clam meat and discard shells.
3 Return clam meat (or uncooked clam meat) to saucepan, add sake and cook over high heat for 1 minute, stirring quickly until meat is just cooked.
4 Add soy sauce, mirin and ginger to the clams and continue to cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add clam mixture to rice and gently fold through until combined. Serve immediately topped with spring onions.